SWTOR Fic repositry
by Laina Inverse
Summary: Various on shots of events that happen in the SW: TOR continuity. Spoilers for pretty much every storyline eventually. Multiple pairings.
1. Where Do We Begin?

Where do we begin?

Hoth was the giant ice planet from hell. Someone's hell, at least. Even run by the Chiss Ascendancy as it was—and it had been a damned long time since she'd seen so many of her own people in one place—she didn't much care for it. Incompetent Imperials, wampas, pirates... and of course her duties as posing as a double agent. That damned keyword didn't help _either_.

Tip Toni was not necessarily a _happy_ Chiss, despite seeing many of her fellows on the planet. She was nursing a grudge, mixed between her employers and her double-agent role. If it hadn't been for the stress of that code word, she could have enjoyed the job, considered it _fun_ , even.

But between her duties and helping her friend Modiri—bounty hunter by trade, and someone who's morals were ruled mostly by money—the stress was definitely starting to take its toll. About the only bright side she'd _found_ in this mess of white-hell missions was the unexpected affection of Aristocre Saganu.

Even before she had left the Ascendancy for the Imperial Academy, Toni had never had dealings with the upper-class of her own people. Her parents had been simple merchants, and they had died before she'd left for the Academy. She had thought it simply an accident at the time, though now she was much less certain.

But being an Imperial Agent gave her an odd modicum of freedom. She was outside the aristocracy's ranks and hierarchies, and while she had only flirted with him on a whim that first time, she hadn't quite been able to stop herself from continuing it since.

It was kind of funny, really; she had come to like Vector, as odd as he was. Of the people on her ship, he was the only one she trusted to watch her back and not prepare to stab it. Kaliyo, as Modiri had put it, was crazy in a bottle. The less said about Dr. Lokin, the better. But the Aristocre was... different. And it wasn't just because he was Chiss.

Funny to compare him _to_ Vector, but they both gave her that sense of calm, of peace that was in short supply. And Vector hadn't seemed to _mind_ her giving Saganu pointed attention. Nor did he seem resigned to it... if anything, he had appeared mildly curious and... oddly pleased.

They had tracked the pirates to the far end of the starship graveyard, a place Modiri also needed to visit to collect her latest bounty. The Trandoshan had been annoying enough to warrant Modiri's decision to spare his life and bring him utter humiliation. Torian had stuffed the crouched, carbonite-encased bounty into a box for easier transportation.

"So how much farther is it to get to this Admiral Davos and the shit you need?" Modiri asked, cycling the heat sink on her gun.

"Not much farther," Toni replied. "Maybe a few dozen more pirates, not to mention a trio of blast doors, but that shouldn't cause you too much trouble, now should it?"

The other woman barked a brief laugh of derision, and Toni couldn't help but smile a little; rough and crass the bounty hunter might be, but she was a good and solid friend. Probably the only person she could trust to try and help her break the keyword embedded in her brain... something her former Keeper had yet to answer for.

"Looking forward to seeing your boyfriend?" Modiri teased as they headed out into less safe territory.

Toni tried to not blush purple as she thought briefly of Saganu; he had called her an embodiment of the Red Flame... he had kissed her. Hoth's frozen air might have robbed her of the physical heat, but it could not take away the comfort, or change the soft desire.

She could not stay on Hoth. If she tried, no doubt that bastard Jedi, Kothe—she had figured that out after the second conversation—wouldn't hesitate to use the keyword to make her behave. And if _he_ didn't, Hunter _assuredly_ would.

She couldn't wait to shoot both of them.

But there was a chance that Saganu would come with her. Or would wait for her.

"I think you're being a trifle optimistic there," Toni said after a moment, tugging at her hood in the hopes of hiding the fading blush.

"Oh please. I saw that kiss. He likes you. You think you've got room on your ship?"

"Well, I can always put Kaliyo off somewhere. I expect she'll want to leave sooner rather than later at this rate."

"Probably. Think she's still waiting for a chance to shoot you in the back?"

Toni shrugged lightly, and pulled a grenade from the pouch as they approached a gaggle of White Maw pirates. They were everywhere in this hunk of junk that was frozen solid to the surface of Hoth, and she was getting quite tired of them being in the way.

"It's Kaliyo. I wouldn't be surprised."

"Why d'you keep her on if you think she's gonna shoot you?" Torian put in as he and Vector readied their electrostaves for combat.

"Friends close, enemies closer."

Toni threw the grenade into the pirates, and the battle was joined.

* * *

Three blast doors later, they found a group of Chiss, and Ensign Temple waiting, having come in through a different route. Toni was nursing new blaster burns on one arm, and muttered a little as the two groups joined.

"Sir!" Temple smiled weakly as they all found cover. "Enemies in pursuit, more expected. Bit of a nightmare, but we'll hold them off!"

One Chiss, peering around the corner, muttered something that was best left untranslated, then ducked back to avoid a blaster shot.

Silently, Toni seethed, wishing the group was bigger, wishing... she flicked a glance around; no sign of Saganu.

She couldn't focus on Saganu. Dealing with Davros and stealing the Starbreeze came first.

"Where's Admiral Davros?"

"Down this corridor somewhere, probably with his escort," Temple said, gesturing behind them.

"Twelve more. Marauders and Scourge," one of the lookouts called.

Blaster fire made everyone duck... and then Modiri primed a grenade and chucked it into the oncoming pirates, knocking them back. Toni grinned a little, nodding her thanks at her explosion-happy friend before returning her attention to the ensign.

"Aristocre Saganu is holding the escape route; we'll keep the pirates off your back, so you get in there and do what you need to do," the humans woman finished, giving Toni a firm nod.

Toni hesitated a moment, then clapped Ensign Temple on the shoulder briefly.

"Remember. No unnecessary heroics. If you have to, pull back."

Temple smiled a little.

"The Aristocre wouldn't leave you vulnerable, sir, and neither will we."

It wasn't the answer Toni wanted, but it was the only one she was going to get. So she caught Vector by the arm, and yanked on Mo's coat to get her to follow. They ran down the corridor, ducking stray blaster fire until they were beyond the fighting. Another turn brought them to the hanger where Davros and his escort stood.

"Still here," the old human mumbled. "Still waiting for us."

Toni would have muffled her steps, wanting to kill at range, but Modiri was not as subtle, and the heavy footfalls of the Mirialan drew the attention of Captain Furth, who spun.

"Admiral, intruders!"

"Target them, but do not fire," Davros ordered.

There was enough open space to give Toni pause, though Modiri only crossed her arms and looked unimpressed.

"The Cipher agent lives," Davros drawled slightly as he turned to face them, revealing the cybernetics on his face. "I had wondered what had become of you."

"Too bad for you we're difficult to kill," Modiri shot.

"You planned to take this hoard and abandon the Empire?" Toni asked, keeping her tone as even as possible, despite wanting to kick her friend. Modiri's mouth had a way of getting them all into trouble... "Tsk, tsk, Admiral."

"You say that so easily," and the admiral glared. "I waited years to return to Hoth and reclaim my 'retirement funds.' My superiors were never to know."

The pirate who had granted them safe passage—Toni couldn't immediately bring his name to mind—gave Davros an annoyed look.

"We should take her now," he said irritably.

"Silence," Davros snapped. Then he frowned at Toni and Modiri both. "You complicated matters. Forced us to part ways with the Empire."

"I'm pretty sure you did that without our help," Modiri interjected, clearly bored. "You shoot at _us_ first."

"This can be mended," he said, and this time the glare was for Modiri alone. On Toni he turned a more inquisitive look. "Tell me what you desire?"

"The shuttle," she replied instantly. "Give me the Starbreeze and I don't care what you do with the rest of this."

"The shuttle? Very well," and he shrugged lightly.

"That was to be _our_ payment," the pirate protested.

"Be still. In return, I want two things from you, agent. Your silence... and the location of the secret Chiss base. I am aware that you know of it."

Beside her, Modiri stiffened, and a hand went to her blasters. For good reason, too.

"No deal," Toni said, eyes narrowing. "One I could have given, but not both."

"A pity. Kill them."

Pirates and men loyal to Davros opened fire; most of it deflected from the portable cover Toni immediately threw down before her; Vector and Torian were swiftly in the middle of the gathered men, hampering shots at times, but making swift work of the less well armored. Toni picked her shots with precision, while Modiri simply filled the area with blaster fire and grenades until the last one fell.

"Idiot," Modiri said contemptuously as silence fell. Then she glanced at Toni, who collapsed her cover, and pulled out her holocommunicator. "Now what?"

"Now I contact that ass, and tell him I have what he wants. Then we go and pull everyone else out."

She nodded, and stepped back; Hunter knew they were a running pair, so he wouldn't question the presence of the Mandalorians, but he _would_ get tetchy if Toni tried to speak openly while she was there.

"This is Legate to Hunter," Toni said, hating the code name even as she used it. "I have the location of the Starbreeze."

"You look like hell, fiery as always," Hunter replied with a smirk.

Toni bit her tongue to prevent sniping at him; one forced mission briefing with that damned code word was enough. Fortunately, he didn't need her to respond.

"Get that shuttle running, and rendezvous at these coordinates. Hunter out."

The connection collapsed, and Toni shoved the communicator into her pocket, wishing she dared toss the damn thing.

"Okay, let's go-"

And explosion made them turn; apparently one of the pirates had only been _playing_ dead, but Ensign Temple, limping up to join them, had hit a barrel filled with explosives. The pirate was _very_ dead now, but the Ensign didn't necessarily look so good.

"Sir... pirates are down, but... I'm the only one left. We need to get moving."

Toni's blood went cold.

"The Aristocre?"

"I... I don't know sir."

Toni glanced briefly at the shuttle.

"Are you hurt?"

"Scratches sir. Deep scratches. Force trick saved my life."

"The shuttle is in poor condition," Vector offered diffidently. "We will need help to fly it."

"Toni...?"

Toni looked at Modiri, who raised one eyebrow. Funny how that one look could make a decision so much easier.

"Vector, help the ensign to the shuttle; if we're not back in ten minutes, take it to these coordinates. Tell Hunter I was severely injured or something, and get back to the ship. Mo, up for some thrilling heroics?"

"Heh. Sure. Why not? Hey, Vector, get my bounty into that shuttle too; make it an easy trip."

As Vector nodded, Toni turned away from the shuttle, back towards the halls. Alive or dead, Saganu deserved better than to be left to the snow of Hoth and forgotten. She would not, _could_ not, leave him behind.

* * *

They found him half buried, but still breathing. Pirate bodies littered the ground around him, and frozen blood of various shades decorated the snow. Those few still alive took cover while Toni launched a few flashbangs to keep them away.

"Torian, kolto," Modiri snapped.

Torian crouched down next to Saganu, injecting a thin stream of kolto into him, then checked with the scanner.

"He needs a tank; there's no way we're going to be able to help him if we can't get him to a medcenter," the Mandalorian said with a faint scowl. "But I don't think he's gonna last long enough for us to get through Toni's meeting with Hunter."

Toni frowned briefly, then looked at Modiri.

"What about your carbonite?"

Modiri shrugged.

"...well, there's no guarantee it'll work, but I guess we can try."

If Saganu hadn't been unconscious, she would have asked him. But he _was_ unconscious, and she wasn't willing to risk losing him to deliberation. If nothing else, his people _here_ needed him. So Toni nodded firmly, then stood back; Torian moved him gingerly to make for a more compact and easy transition, then got out of the way as well so that Modiri could hit Saganu with the carbonite freeze.

Carbonite was quick, at least... It wouldn't kill him, only hold him in stasis until they could get to a medcenter, or even just a meddroid that knew more about healing than she did.

She hoped it would, at least.

Torian grunted a little, and Modiri stepped up to the other side to help him carry the frozen Chiss back towards the bay where they'd left the Starbreeze. It hadn't taken that long to _find_ Saganu... but the pirates had recongregated by the time they carried him back. The previously empty halls were now filled with angry White Maw pirates, looking to get back some of their own for the deaths of their fellows.

Toni launched grenade after grenade; one group received a pulse bomb that liquified their insides and she didn't even cringe. But she couldn't kill _all_ of them, and despite her best efforts, their time ticked away as the pirates came at them, until her improvised deadline was up.

* * *

The Starbreeze was still in the hanger, and the ensign was waiting at the foot of the ramp. Ensign Temple stared in shock for several moments, then scampered forward, blaster at the ready to help hold off the remaining pirates that still pursued them; Modiri's coat had a few new holes in it, and Torian's armor had some new scorch marks, to say nothing of what was left of Toni's own long coat and hood.

When they were all on board, Toni half-collapsed on a bench; Mo and Torian wrestled Saganu's carbonite-encased form onto another one, then they flopped too as Temple closed the door and scampered into the cockpit with Vector. The flight passed mostly in silence as they made for the rendezvous, everyone nursing injuries and exhaustion.

"...thanks Mo," Toni said wearily.

"Don't mention it."

Toni smiled tiredly, and obligingly dropped it; she had helped out Mo by using her connections to Imperial Intelligence often enough, but this was much more than killing idiots who insisted on being in the way.

"We will arrive at the coordinates in five minutes," Vector said, coming back into the small area and bowing slightly.

Toni gave him a narrow-eyed stare, but she was too tired for there to be much heat behind it.

"I thought I told you to leave if we went over ten minutes."

"Did you?" he blinked at her. "We apologize agent, but we did not hear that part. The ensign needed some tending and then placing the bounty on board took some effort alone. Had we heard, surely we would have obeyed."

Modiri snickered a little as Toni stared at her Joiner crewmember, trying to decide if he was as full of shit as his tone suggested, or if he was being honest. For his own part, Vector simply stared back, a tiny smile on his lips.

"...why do I even bother?"

Now, Modiri cackled.

* * *

Hunter waited in a snowblind in the canyon, and didn't look pleased to see any of the extra people piling out of the Starbreeze.

"I didn't say you could bring your buddies," he said as Toni presented herself.

"Ask me if I care, Hunter," she retorted, in no mood to play games. "Here's the ship."

"All right, let's take a look then," he said ungraciously.

Modiri and Torian both ignored Hunter, moving first Saganu, and then their own boxed bounty out of the Starbreeze, towards the smaller shuttle that they would undoubtedly be taking back to the base. Hunter paused briefly as Ensign Temple walked down the ramp, still limping a little, and smirked.

"Solid body, and not a scratch on her. She came with my shuttle? What's her name."

Toni pressed her lips together in a thin line, but Temple only stood a little straighter.

"Ensign Raina Temple, sir. Chiss Expansionary Defense Force."

"Of course," Hunter nodded. "Minder Seventeen, Imperial Intelligence. Excellent work, both of you."

It was about as insincere as a Hutt deal, but Toni kept her snarky reply between her teeth; he hadn't even tried to affect a proper Imperial accent!

"I couldn't have done any of this without her," she said, her tone warning.

"High praise," he said smoothly. "Maybe she deserves a promotion."

Toni kept her face blank out of long practice, but she really wanted to punch him in the face. The hope on the ensign's face was enough to make her refrain... that and the stupid programming she still hadn't managed to subvert.

"I'll fly the shuttle to its final destination. You can take my ride home," he continued. "Ensign, why don't you and Vector give the shuttle a systems check- the agent and I need to talk."

Vector glanced at Toni; she nodded slightly, and he escorted Temple away.

"I'll chisel the ice off the pilot's seat for you~" Temple said over her shoulder.

Toni stifled a faint smile, and followed Hunter as he headed back into his snowblind.

"Arden Kothe will be happy with you," he said. "But the girl... we both agree that she has to die, right?"

Toni stared at him for a long, silent moment.

"Absolutely _not_ ," she said, fury in her voice. "Kill someone who's been helpful, and working with my people, are you mad? Besides which, she's _intelligence_ , unlike you. She knows better than to reveal classified information."

Hunter looked unmoved by her anger, and annoyingly enough, he wasn't in any danger. Damn Kothe's programming. Damn her Keeper for signing off on the programming in the first place!

"All right, fine. You worked with her, bonded with her. Fine. I'm not heartless. Maybe she'll even be useful," he shrugged lightly. "You want her to live, you take responsibility. Keep her with you, on your ship, and she doesn't talk to _anyone_. Doesn't learn about the SIS."

If it kept the girl alive, and gave her someone else sensible, Toni had no trouble with that. So she nodded.

"But just in case, I'm putting a command in that brain of yours," and he smirked as she stiffened, fury rising in her again. Twisted bastard looked smug, loving every second of the hatred she exuded at those words. "Keyword: onomontophobia. If Raina Temple becomes a threat to our mission, or leaves your supervision, you will kill her. You won't have a choice."

Toni could only hope that Modiri was logging the conversation; as much as she hated the keyword, the programming, she trusted Mo to have it, and to counteract whatever orders she was given. Hunter smirked as he walked past her, out of the snowblind, and it took every ounce of control to make herself step out of his way.

She couldn't _wait_ for this second dose to finish working through her body so she could recode herself. Or Watcher X could... she still wasn't sure if he was real or a figment of her imagination, but either way, she did regret shooting him now.

As Ensign Temple and Vector joined her in the blind, she made herself push away the fury, the anger; Vector would pick up on it and be uneasy, and she couldn't afford that right now.

"Sir, Minder Seventeen told me about the transfer. I'm... a little surprised."

"Really?" Toni managed a smile.

"If intelligence wants me out of the Chiss Defense Force, though, I won't argue!" she added quickly. "Nice as it would have been to pack an overnight bag."

"Ah, yes... I apologize for that. But don't worry. You'll fit right in."

"Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic opportunity! My father would have loved this... But if I can ask, why do you want me here?"

Now Toni's smile came a little more easily. She _did_ like the ensign, and while she certainly wasn't interested in recruiting her to Imperial Intelligence, keeping her onboard wasn't going to be the sort of trial it was with Kaliyo.

"You're sensible, calm, and willing to learn. I rather enjoy the company of people like that."

"Oh! Well," and though it was hard to tell in the cold, Temple almost seemed to be blushing. "I... Thank you, sir."

"Ensign, we are delighted that you're joining us," Vector said, bowing slightly and breaking the budding tension. "Don't let the dangers put you off. The agent is not as scary as she acts."

"Vector!" Toni complained.

"That's very kind, Master Hyllus," Raina said, though her tone suggested she was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Just Vector," he corrected.

"You're all ridiculous, and it's freezing out here," Modiri complained sticking her head into the blind. "Let's get out of here already! I have a bounty to deliver!"

And the Aristocre in carbonite that needed thawing and medical attention. Toni nodded, and scampered to the shuttle, while Raina and Vector followed quickly behind.

* * *

"You head back to the ship," she told Raina as the shuttle touched down at Dorn base. "Vector can show you where it is."

"But, sir, what about you?"

"I'm going to talk to the Colonel, and get him to thaw and treat the Aristocre. With any luck," please let it be good luck, "he'll make it out of this in one piece."

Raina looked uncertain, but Vector put a hand on her shoulder with a light nod.

"We will make sure Kaliyo does not bother her."

Toni snorted a little, then moved quickly down the ramp, locating the Chiss leader of Dorn base as Modiri and Torian offloaded their crated Trandoshan, taking him back towards the cells.

Efficient Chiss worked quickly, thawing Aristocre Saganu from the carbonite and installing him in a kolto tank.

"We'll send you mail when he's recovered, an no doubt he'll want to hear from you then," the colonel said gravely.

"Thank you," Toni said with a small bow, briefly placing one hand on the tank. "Please tell him I said thank you for his bravery."

She wanted to stay.

Couldn't stay.

But it was hard to turn away.

It had to be enough to know that he would live. It would take him time to heal, to recover, but one day, stars willing, she would meet him again, under her own terms. No lies, no missions.

She pulled her torn hood down a little to hide her face, and headed for her ship. If nothing else, she could tell Raina that he would live to fight another day.

* * *

"This is Legate to base command. Mission complete."

The holoterminal lit up, and a holographic image of Kothe appeared over it.

"Base command here. Hunter gave me his report. He spoke highly of you. Not a lot of people earn his praise."

Toni couldn't quite keep her lip from curling.

"He's insufferable and rude," she retorted. "I'd rather work with Chance over him."

Kothe chuckled a little.

"I'm grateful the Starbreeze is in one piece," he said firmly. "She'll help us win this war. With Hoth and Taris, that makes two. Ready for the final stage?"

The final stage... that was almost ominous, and it meant she was getting closer to finally being able to put a blaster bolt between the Jedi's eyes. She could hardly wait for that... But she still had _questions_.

"You still haven't told me anything about this," she protested. "I've been sent after a science project, a Republic shuttle..."

"All for good reason," he said reassuringly. "I promise. If you've heard of it, a death trap of a planet called Quesh is where our primary objective lies. I want you en route."

Quesh...a chill ran up her spine. Quesh was the planet she'd gone to so that she could get the pieces of the serum that had fucked up her brain. Had he learned that?

"A chemical mining world," she said. "We're at war over it."

"That's the one," he nodded. "But we're after something built _before_ all that. Head to these coordinates when you arrive, and we'll be in touch. Base command, out."

The holoterminal went dead, and Toni sighed, relaxing a little. So, they were almost to the end game, then.

"About bloody time," she muttered, heading not for her astrogation terminal, but for her bed. "But also, not _enough_ time..."

She cycled the door closed and half-fell onto her bed without bothering to shed her tattered clothing. She was going to have to contact Modiri, let her know that Quesh was where they needed to go, but stars she needed a nap. She was half-asleep when her holocom chirped at her insistently, and it was tempting to throw the damn thing across the room.

Instead, she pulled it out and hit the connection button; a holo of Saganu greeted her, and she sat upright in surprise.

"Agent, I hope this recorded message find you well. This is Aristocre Saganu of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force."

He had to have recorded the message not long after she'd left for this ship,she realized. He was strong, hale, unharmed... Nothing like the man she'd left in the kolto tank.

"I never got the chance to see you off Hoth. Understandable; things were... hectic."

Her heart flipped a little, and despite her exhaustion and the weight on her shoulders, she smiled. He sounded almost embarrassed. How cute.

"But you represent the future of the Chiss Ascendancy, and that will _not_ go unrecognized. I pronounce you merit adoptive of House Miurani. _My_ house."

All the training in the world couldn't have prepared her for that. Adopted into the house of an Aristocre? His _personal_ house?! It was a good thing it was a recorded message, clearly prepared in advance, else she would have protested heavily against it.

His expression softened a little, and she found herself softening in response.

"In another age, I would have kept you by my side. Spent our days and nights together. Now, this is my only gift. Fight well, my Red Flame. Saganu out."

"Save message," she said quickly. "Store in permanent memory."

She would come back to him after deal with Kothe.

Because after words like that, she couldn't find it in her heart to do anything else.


	2. What peace can be found

What Peace Can Be Found

Kothe was dead. It should have felt good, cathartic, but in the end, it just felt like murder. It didn't _hurt_ , she didn't feel _guilty_ , she just felt... Tired. Yes. She had reprogrammed herself there at the end, _no one_ would be able to use her like that again, but...

It didn't feel like a victory.

Damned Jedi. Not fallen enough to be Sith, not wise enough to leave well enough alone.

In truth, as much as she wanted to shoot Hunter in the face—bastard that he was had escaped, and she was _definitely_ going to track him down for this—she actually kind of owed him for tipping off the Imperials. That 'Shadow Arsenal' wouldn't have done either side any good. Attack each other, fine, but leave the civilians out of it.

War never left civilians out of anything, and she was foolish for allowing sentiment to let her believe otherwise... but damnit, she needed some sentiment in these times.

It had been weeks. Saganu had to be out of his kolto tank by now, didn't he? Was it worth the effort to try and contact him, wishing for Chiss solidarity and companionship in the aftermath of everything she couldn't discuss?

She reached for the small holoprojector; she'd stored his message there, a sentimental keepsake where she also held the last holocall she'd received from her parents. There was even one from Sanju Pine, the former mole of Balmorra who now posed as Grey Star and ran that 'terrorist cell'.

Funny how that seemed so long ago now. It had only been a few months...

After a moment, she put it back, messages unplayed. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but those hopeful, warm things didn't seem right. They were too far away to... dreamy.

"Agent?"

Toni blinked, then pushed herself up onto her elbows; Vector hovered in the open doorway looking as uncertain as she'd ever seen him.

"Something the matter, Vector?"

"Your song seemed... discordant. We became concerned. Are you well?"

"I'm not physically hurt," she said carefully. "I've just got... things on my mind."

"Modiri's troubles?"

That made her chuckle a little, and she shook her head lightly.

"No. To be honest, I'm quite sure she could handle this herself if she wanted to, she just likes letting me feel useful."

Modiri was being framed for a number of things she hadn't actually done, which was bringing about a good number of questions; she had actually set Dr. Lokin to looking through Imperial Intelligence to see if there was any insight to be offered, though the charges looked to be mostly from Republic space.

"If you require someone to talk to..."

Toni blinked, and actually gave Vector a long look; Kilik eyes were impossible to read, but after getting to know him for the past few months, his expressions were becoming more and more clear. There was a thin line of worry between his brows, and the tiniest hint of a frown. Concern? For _her?_

"Vector, are you _fussing?_ "

"We can try to stop if you would like?"

Oddly hollow or not, Toni couldn't hep but chuckle. Wasn't that an odd twist? The one she had regarded as most inhuman on her crew was the one she'd ended up being closest to. He seemed to be the only one who could see _her_ , and not necessarily the ideal agent facade that she presented.

"Come in then, and close the door. I don't need a congregation."

He did, and sat on the edge of her bed as she sat up properly, brushing dark blue hair back over her shoulder; she was going to have to get it trimmed soon, or it was going to get in the way of everything...

"Do you desire to go back to Hoth to see the Aristocre?" he asked.

"A little," she shrugged lightly. "But... he has a duty to perform. And so do I. Agents aren't supposed to be _attached_ , after all. It 'compromises our impartiality', or so the Academy says."

She'd had other things compromise her impartiality, and while she was still willing to work within Imperial Intelligence, it was a very thin thread that held her at this point. Depending on the Minister of Intelligence's words next time they met—they would be at Dromund Kaas soon—that might make or break what was left of her loyalty.

"Are you... unhappy with the way you handled Kothe?"

That was almost perceptive. Toni frowned a little, down at her bed. Kothe hadn't begged for his life, hadn't told her he'd help if she let him live. So why did his death _bother_ her so damn much?

"I might be," she said slowly. "Kothe _used_ me, and would have killed millions of civilians to further his aims. And yet somehow it still feels like that bastard _won_. Hunter getting away annoys me as well..."

Actually, Hunter's escape did more than annoy her, but there wasn't a place in the galaxy he could hide when she put her mind to it. With or without the permission of Intelligence, she was going to find him and put a bolt through that smug face of his.

"Hunter was much more... provoking in his use of your talents," and for a moment Toni was willing to swear that she heard actual anger in Vector's calm monotone. "He seemed to enjoy it."

"Oh, he did," and her eyes narrowed. "Smug bastard would have happily tried to order me about as long as he could get away with it."

"...we find ourselves having to ask; could you not have told us of the problem?"

That made her look up again in surprise. Was he hurt by the silence?

"You told Modiri."

After a moment, Toni shook her head.

"I had Modiri listening in from an outside secure line when Kothe first used that... _word_ on me. The word itself, and the programming he forced, made it so that I couldn't tell anyone about it. But since she _knew_ , that bypassed his attempts at control."

"You trusted Modiri to keep you safe."

"I didn't have much of a choice," Toni said a little sourly. "Fortunately, there are things Mo won't do, and command control is one of them. If I could have told you, I would have."

It wasn't entirely true; Vector occasionally had the problem of being _too_ honest. But if she could have told anyone, it would certainly have been him. She rather thought Lokin had suspected... and stars help everyone if Kaliyo had known.

"We could have helped better if we had known..."

"You did what you could with what you had," Toni replied shifting to sit on the edge of the bed with him. "I'm sorry I caused you worry on top of everything else. You've certainly gotten the rough end of things since leaving your colony."

"It has been difficult at times, but we do not regret our decision to become intelligence. You have become very important, and we wish only to help as much as is possible."

"Important, me?" she leaned back a little and raised an eyebrow at him, not entirely sure what frame of reference he was working under. They had flirted a little bit, and she had joined him on a few excursions to visit other Kiliks and their colonies, but...

"Yes," he replied, and there was a small smile on his face. "We worry because we care. Is that not the correct phrase?"

Coming from any of the rest, it might have been insulting, or even mocking. From Vector... it was oddly touching. Comforting. It was _hard_ to make friends as an agent; Meeting Modiri on Hutta had been a happy accident to be sure, and while she admittedly started off being wary of Vector, he had proved himself far more trustworthy than Kaliyo in the long run.

"...thank you, Vector," she said softly, touched. "It's been a long while since anyone's properly worried about me, I think."

"Well, we will continue to do so. Have you eaten? Rested? Tended your injuries properly?"

She snorted a little, and reached over to give him a very gentle push; she was used to his exceptionally dry humor at this point, and knew he was only teasing her.

"Very funny," she huffed, smiling wryly at him. "I was considering a nap, since it'll still be a few hours before we reach Dromund Kaas. I already told the ensign to wake me up if any priority messages came through."

"Is there anything we can offer?"

Toni was quiet for a long minute, considering the question. She meant to nap, certainly, but it might be... easier... if she had someone with her for a short while.

"How are you at being a pillow?"

"We are not sure, but if you would like, we are willing to find out."

* * *

 _I 100% meant to finish some others instead, but Ria and I are running the Agent/Bounty Hunter team and I have a Vested Interest in getting to the end of the main story arc. So, it'll be A/BH stuff until I get inspired elsewhere._


	3. A moment

A Moment

Whoever this 'Scorpio' person was, they were rapidly getting on her last nerve. Attacking the idiots who she was recruiting to get into that supermax wing, by all means; she could pacify them without really worrying about it. Truth be told, she wasn't too terribly _attached_ to their lives; she wasn't getting them off Belsavis when the job was done, and honestly thought that it might just be better to shoot them one by one as their usefulness ended.

It was almost funny how that idea might once have been a dilemma, and now was just a matter of recourse. What did that say about her own mental state?

No, what _upset_ her was that both Vector and Torian had gotten caught up in the mess. Her own immunity wasn't too shocking; nothing and no one could control her again after what she'd done to earn her freedom from the brainwashing. Asking Modiri later was definitely in the cards for both her and Blizz...

So was breaking whatever this Scorpio was using to get access to the labs.

Modiri held the four bleeding but alive conscripts at gunpoint, while Torian and Vector both lay stunned on the metal flooring. 'The Night Herald!' he'd shouted. Given that Vector's own title was Dawn Herald... well...

Toni kept her face professionally blank as she hit the keys that activated the ventilation system, sucking out the gas that had caused all the problems.

"You are immune to mind control technologies, yet those defenses should be unavailable to the wider galaxy. Interesting," Scorpio said, their voice coming from what looked to be a nearby odd camera system. "We will continue this discussion later."

Privately, Toni decided that she was going to feed this person her blaster. Or maybe a grenade. Possibly both. Messing with her was one thing, but the more vulnerable members of the crew?

Not. Okay.

"The air has cleared," Blizz reported in his native language, holding up a small monitoring device. "All problems gone away now!"

Modiri looked over, and only when Toni nodded did she stand down from her aggressive stance towards the four convicts. As they slowly got to their feet, she went over to check on Torian, who muttered something about a charging wampa. Toni glanced over at Vector, who was only just starting to sit up, and wondered if she'd thrown him a little _too_ hard.

She couldn't worry about that now; as much as she wanted to help him, she didn't dare show weakness in front of this lot. They were a pack of womp rats, and they'd take advantage of even the _hint_ that she might be nice.

"That is one _nasty_ security system," Kenjon grumbled, "but I think we're all in one piece."

"You had better be," Toni said in her clipped, Republic voice. "We don't have time to sit around and nurse neurosis from being shot."

"We're not even _in_ the Megasecurity ward yet," Chaney muttered, not quite glaring.

"And the longer we wait, the more time there is to screw it up," Toni snapped. "Move it."

"You got it... boss," Kenjon said. It _almost_ sounded like respect in his tone.

Almost.

"I... I'll slice into the computer," Chaney volunteered, shaking her head a little. "See if I can't get an equipment list."

Toni nodded, watching as Chaney, followed by Kenjon headed back to the large computer that took up half the wall.

"Yes, yes... no," Chaney mumbled as she rapidly tapped at the consles. "It's _almost_ all here. Stupid equipment isn't listed, but it looks like there's some pieces that aren't stored here in the labs. I can pinpoint the locations, though."

"Good. Tell me."

"Carbonite trap is in the armory..."

"If you need carbonite, I have a gun," Modiri volunteered from across the room.

"Got enough shots for all of us?" Kenjon asked shortly.

"Probably."

"Why do we need a carbonite trap?" Toni interrupted, forestalling a disagreement.

"Hides your lifesigns from the Megasecuriy ward sensors. Only way to get in," Kenjon replied.

"Hmmm... I'll take it under advisement."

"Spent maranium power battery. Hazardous waste containment," Chaney continued.

Toni gave Kenjon a raised eyebrow for that one.

"Radiation'll weaken the door seals. Old Black Sun trick."

"I don't have radiation blocking gear," Toni pointed out dryly.

"Anti-radiation serum. Water filters," Chaney interrupted.

"To survive the battery," Kenjon smirked a little. "Still, if that's all we're missing, we can count ourselves lucky."

She noticed he didn't offer an explanation for the water filters, and filed it away to ask about later.

"We can pack up here, start creeping to the next security zone. Assuming..."

"Yes, I can get those pieces," Toni interrupted. "Just keep your heads down; don't want any of you dead at the hands of the Republic."

" _I_ can handle the Republic," Ohta snarled slightly.

"That'll take care of that, then. Watch yourself," Kenjon said.

Toni nodded a little, then turned away; Modiri and Torian had gotten Vector to his feet, and the five of them headed out of the labs. Only when she felt they were a safe distance away did she signal for a stop.

"Vector-"

"We know a formal apology should come with a gift," he said, interrupting her for what seemed like the first time ever. Which was surprising enough in and of itself. "But for the moment, we are... sorry..."

Toni sighed a little, and shook her head.

"That wasn't your fault. That wasn't _anyone's_ fault except for this Scorpio person."

"I'm feeding them a missile when I see them, just so you know," Modiri growled as she let Vector stand on his own. "Maybe two."

Vector staggered a little, and actually pulled away when Toni moved in to offer support. It stung, but she allowed him to stand on his own, even if he didn't seem ready for it. Instead of focusing on that, she turned to the Mirialan bounty hunter and raised an eyebrow.

"Speaking of, why on earth weren't _you_ affected?"

"Has there ever been a time when I've _not_ been pissed off?" Modiri countered.

Torian and Blizz both laughed.

"She's got you with that one, agent," Torian snickered.

"That is true, she does," Toni sighed a lttle. "I apologize for getting you all involved in this..."

"Don't sweat it. It's not like we weren't prepared for something to go down," Torian said, waving a hand slightly.

"Agreed," Blizz nodded. "Plus, interesting things!"

"...Blizz what did you get your hands on this time?" Modiri asked, sounding more resigned than anything else.

"Useful things! You see!"

"Just don't blow us up, all right?"

Blizz only snickered, which wasn't even _slightly_ comforting. Toni just shook her head a little, and glanced again at Vector. He was standing straight again, and looked calmer; when she inclined her head slightly, he hesitated only a moment before falling in at the proper spot. She was going to have to properly talk to him later, reassure him that he wasn't in any sort of trouble, but right now it was time to get moving.

"So, where's your next bounty target, Mo?"


	4. Apologies

Apologies

"No, really Vector, you didn't do anything that needs to be apologized for," Toni repeated, rubbing her forehead slightly. "If anything, the one who _ought_ to be apologetic is Scorpio, but somehow, I doubt she cares enough to offer one."

She didn't like having the droid on her ship. Didn't _want_ the droid on her ship. Would have, in fact, been happier to just have Blizz pull the droid apart for the requisite databanks instead of subjecting her to control codes and reanimation.

But at the moment, that wasn't the point. Vector had certainly gotten the worst of the trip this time around; between Scorpio's gases that had put him in danger, and Modiri smarting off to the Dread Masters in such a way as to have them all Force-manipulated—and hadn't she snapped at Modiri for _that_ one—the diplomatic Joiner with combat skills had been left somewhat the worse for wear.

"But we almost attacked you," he said insistently.

" _Almost._ It's not like I don't know how to defend myself, Vector, which I did. You had more than just bruised ribs by me throwing you to the floor."

"...we got better?"

At any other time, the attempt at a joke, his attempt to alleviate her temper, would have been heavily appreciated. As it was, she only sighed, briefly putting her head in her hands before running them through her hair.

"Vector. You don't owe me an apology for something that was outside your control," she said, holding on to her patience by a thread. "It's not _you_ that's upset me."

"You are upset, though."

"There's a lot of reasons to _be_ upset," she pointed out, not unreasonably. "Having a somewhat mad droid on the ship doesn't exactly inspire me towards _calm_ , you know."

He looked pensive, going quiet for several minutes.

Oh, it was unreasonable of her to expect him to understand; from what she'd gathered of Kilik life and lifestyle since he'd joined her crew, they focused on the many, not the few. Toni was the exact opposite of that; her small, surprisingly dedicated crew, was exceptionally important, even the ones she didn't fully trust.

"Would a hug suffice?" he asked, breaking into her thoughts.

Toni blinked, and stared at him for a moment, surprised.

"Come again?"

"A hug," he repeated, though he sounded less sure of himself. "It... is the thing friends do when the other is upset..."

A hug... how long had it _been_ since she'd gotten one of those? That brief embrace with Saganu on Hoth... Sanju on Balmorra. Before that?

She sighed a little, feeling ire draining away like water from a broken glass; here he was, trying to be thoughtful, and she was letting her stress and temper get the better of her. It wasn't fair to take these things out on Vector.

She hadn't quite expected him to take that sigh for acceptance, so she startled a little when he pulled her closer, then found herself caught by mild amusement when she was forcibly reminded that the top of her head only just came up to his shoulder.

But he was warm. His arms around her were gently, almost uncertain, and after a moment she brought her own up to loop around his waist, tucking herself more compactly up against him.

It was... nice. To be held. She hadn't thought Vector might be the cuddling sort, but then, perhaps he had only been waiting for the opportune moment to volunteer. He _had_ made an excellent pillow after that whole affair with Kothe...

Toni closed her eyes and shoved that particular memory away. She didn't need to get annoyed all over again.

"...we think we understand a little more," Vector said, making her lean back a little to watch his face. "You are upset because we were put in danger."

"Of course I'm upset about that," she huffed a little. "You were a diplomat before your transfer, not a fighter, and this trip wasn't like the rest."

"We do not regret the decision to be transferred," he said patiently. "There are dangers, but there is also knowledge. We have seen many interesting things, met many interesting people, since joining this ship."

She frowned a little, then sighed.

"Still, maybe... you ought to stay on the ship for a little while. I can take Temple out, or Lokin-"

"We prefer to remain at your side."

Toni blinked. That had sounded unusually vehement for him, and his hold on her—that she hadn't stepped out of because it really _was_ comforting—had briefly tightened.

"Vector?"

It was his turn to frown, but it was a thoughtful one.

"We do not enjoy the thought of you walking knowingly into danger without us there to make sure that those who try to harm you are properly punished for it," he finally said. "We were not so harmed by the events on Belsavis that we need to retreat to recuperate. We prefer to remain with you to ensure that no real harm comes to you."

She just blinked at him, surprised and a little touched. True, Modiri often brought along both Torian and Blizz when they went out, so she would be covered, but she thought she understood what he meant.

"All right. If you're certain about that..."

"We are," he said firmly.

Toni knew a losing battle when she saw one, so she just sighed, and shrugged with a small smile. It was strange, the warmth his words gave her, but she appreciated them too. She started to lean against him once more, but before she could, her holocom went off, making the annoying chirp that she'd assigned as Modiri's specific callsign.

"...I should take that," she sighed a little.

"Yes. We will be waiting."


	5. Pick a system

Pick a System

"All right Riggs, one modded gun named Torchy plucked from the corpse of an idiot who thought it was smart to piss me off," Twig said, tossing the weapon in question across the room to her tagalong. "Catch."

"Aw, Captain, I thought I was supposed to be there with you when you punched Skavak," Corso joked, catching the gun, and giving it a fond smile.

"Given that he apparently punched you _again_ , I'm almost sorry I _didn't_ take you. Bowie would have ripped his arms off."

The wookie made a rumble of agreement and Corso winced, putting a hand up to his head where his newest lump resided.

Twig Tytha, Cathar smuggler and apparently now a treasure hunter, just sighed. She still had to get this... repository thing back to Risha and her old man, and then claim whatever else it would take to earn the cash for this job.

Shooting Skavak in his stupid, smug face had been _intensely_ cathartic though. She'd been wanting to do that ever since that bastard had run off with her ship on Ord Mantel.

"Right. Back to Nar Shaddaa to grab Risha and payment. Want me to let you off there, or somewhere else?"

"...Captain?"

Twig made an impatient gesture.

"Pick a planet, I'll drop you off, free of charge."

Corso looked stunned... and a little bit hurt. Twig just shook her head.

"You don't like what I do, or how I handle things, Riggs; we've been over that a thousand times already," she pointed out. "Face facts; I am a smuggler, and credits are my priority. My jobs aren't anything approaching legal, and that's not changing any time soon. And since it's not, there's no reason for you to stick around."

"Captain, I think you're sellin yourself a little short-"

"I'm not selling myself at all," she retorted, propping her hands on her hips. "Which is, for once, the point. Do I have to be any more blunt?"

In a way, she _did_ like the farm boy; he was like the annoying little brother she'd never wanted. Actually, he reminded her a lot of a couple old friends from childhood; they'd both been his brand of obnoxiously optimistic. She'd had more tolerance for it back then... Now she just found it annoying, and wanted it off her ship. She needed realism, not boundless optimism.

"Well, no, but... I like it here. Even if we don't always get along," he tried.

"More like never," Twig retorted. "Look, just pick a planet, I'll drop you off, and we can call it good. Hell, you could even go back to Ord Mantel if you wanted."

"But..."

"Either you can pick, or I will," she said firmly. "Decide quick though, or I might just drop you at Nar Shaddaa."

She pushed past him, heading for the cockpit, and ignored the way he tried to catch her arm.

"...man, what'm I gonna do?" she head him sigh to Bowie.

The wookie just made a sound she interpreted as the verbal equivalent of a shrug, and then she was in the cockpit, flipping tabs and warming the hyperdrive for the jump to lightspeed.

It wasn't like she hated him, but his boundless optimistic attitude, his _insistence_ that people were good deep down, grated on her. Whether people were good or not, she didn't care; she had a business to run, and that business skirted the law more often than not.

And of curse, now that she was thinking about it, she probably should have knocked Skavak out, drugged him, and handed his ass over to Rogun the Butcher. Granted, she could take a goddamn bounty hunter and his bullshit, but it probably would have smoothed things over.

After a minute she just shrugged.

Then frowned.

Corso had tagged along from Ord Mantel. Hell, it had been him and Viduu who were supposed to get her smuggled blasters to Rogun. If _she_ was a target for failing to deliver, wouldn't he be?

….Well, that was his problem, wasn't it? It wasn't like he was the one who ran around making noise and causing trouble; she'd take all the heat... but also be the one harder to track because her life kept her jumping from planet to planet, system to system.

Twig spat a heartfelt curse as she came to an unpalatable conclusion. If Corso left the ship, it was entirely too likely that he'd be snatched up and delivered to the bounty hunter, and _then_ where would she be? Rescue missions really weren't her style.

But going up to him and abruptly saying she'd changed her mind? No way. He'd get all _mushy_ or something, thinking she liked him and wanted him to stick around. She'd have to kick him off on _principle_ for that one.

Absently she leaned back in her seat, then almost fell out of it; Bowdaar, for all he was a giant wookie, could move surprisingly quiet when he wanted to.

"Damnit Bowie, what've I said about makin _noise_ so I don't try to shoot you?" she complained.

He snickered at her, and shrugged when she glared.

"It's fun to make you jump," he said in his native language. "Do you really not want the boy? He seems fond."

"He's a dumb kid who is too damn optimistic for my tastes," Twig replied, folding her arms over her chest with an irritated sound. "I mean, sure, he can hold a blaster, but if he sticks around here long enough, that farmboy glitter is just going to rub right off, y'know?"

"What about Rogun?"

"...yeah, I just thought about that myself." she sighed. "Hell, I don't know. Kid can handle himself, right?"

The Wookie just snorted at her, and crossed his arms in reply. After a moment, Twig tossed her hands up into the air, the picture of exasperation.

"Fine, fine, tell the kid he can stay."

And she wasn't going to say anything about how that idea was actually more reliving than annoying. Bowdaar seemed to get it at least, and reached out to give her head a couple of thumpy pats... which she allowed because while she didn't really like the facts, she _did_ like Bowdaar.

"Jut tell him to wear a helmet or something so he stops getting punched in the head, would you?"

That made the wookie laugh again, and he turned to leave, letting _her_ return to the astrogation chart, and the pretense that she had been argued around. Because like hell was she going to admit to anything else.

She _did_ have her reputation to think of, after all.


	6. How much can you take?

How much can you take?

"The gas was unnecessary," she mumbled when she could lift her head again.

"That's what you think," Hunter's voice came cool and calm over the comms. "I know better than to trust _you'll_ cooperate."

Well, she could hardly fault him on that. Word games had become a favorite thing while under mind control, and frustrating him had been exceptionally satisfying. As had forcing him to be exceptionally specific. About _everything_.

The reminder made Toni smile a little, sharp and bitter as the room came into focus. It promptly went back _out_ of focus as she was punched in the face hard enough to snap her head back. Her hood fell back, dark blue hair falling across her face and briefly obscuring her vision; a tiny part of her regretted not getting it cut before now. It would provide a good handhold for pain.

Already she could feel the start of the black eye, and bruises would be marked all along her back from just that hit.

And yet...

Her hands were tied behind her back, but not... tightly. With rope, of all things? That would be useless in actually holding her. She wasn't tied to the chair... Who had arranged this interrogation? It was poorly handled.

"You have something we want," Hunter said. "Moff Zamar's report. Now we have questions, and you will answer them."

Toni worked her jaw slowly; crude responses typically weren't her style, so it said a lot that she was considering what Modiri might have done in her position. Spitting on the floor was a bit much, however.

"If you wanted answers, you should have contacted Imperial Intelligence," she said after a long moment, letting a smirk cross her face. "That's _their_ job, after all. Oh, wait, you can't. You had them dissolved."

A swift glance around the room netted her the location of all the exits, and revealed the first thing that actually made her heart sink. Vector stood there, a single guard of his own, hand tied behind his back. They could hurt her all they wanted, but if they touched him, the plan would no longer matter. They would all die.

"You should have kept your brainwashing program," Hunter sighed a little. "It'd be less painful."

"The only painful thing here is listening to you talk," she shot back.

A blow came from the side, and she just managed to lean back enough to avoid the full hit.

"Moff Zamar's report," the mercenary growled. "What did it say, and who did you tell?"

"Go jump out of an airlock," Toni replied.

Insolence earned her another punch, one that knocked her off the chair; stars exploded across her vision as she hit the floor, unable to roll with the blow and cushion her landing.

"What did it say, and who did you tell?"

Toni clamped her mouth shut; no one would believe if she said anything now. Hunter especially; he had witnessed her stubbornness first hand, and would be suspicious if she gave things up too swiftly, too easily.

She had to endure this.

* * *

Modiri paced around the dock where Toni had insisted she stay, occasionally shooting the stray mercenary that thought to stick their stupid heads up from the damn stairwells. It had been five hours since her Chiss friend had left on this _stupid_ plan, and the waiting was definitely getting to her.

"Boss! More coming," Blizz reported from his window perch. "Bigbig group."

"They really don't seem to like that we're holding out here," Torian said offhandedly as he checked one of the grenade traps, vibrostaff close to hand.

"They can kiss my ass," Modiri snapped. "And they're about to figure out that I don't like them much either."

The holocom had been silent for the past five hours. When it pinged, she scrambled to answer it... but it was not Toni, giving the all-clear, it was Ensign Temple, looking worried.

"Any news yet?"

"No."

Temple chewed on her lower lip, looking anxious. Annoying as it was, Modiri couldn't really blame her; this was a _stupid_ plan, and Toni had gone along with it, like an idiot.

"Dr. Lokin's going to be heading to your location," the ensign said after a moment. "Do you need any other backup right now?"

"Could use another gun," Torian said before Modiri could answer. "Keep getting merc groups trying to swarm us."

"Well maybe if you'd use the ones we've tried to give you?" Modiri shot over her shoulder.

"Where's the fun in that?"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, the byplay got a small laugh from the ensign.

"I'll escort Dr. Lokin, and make sure nothing happens while we're getting to your location."

Given Lokin's unique condition, that was probably for the best; a Rakghoul in the middle of Coronet city would raise more than a few eyebrows. Modiri didn't give two shits about it, but she knew Toni would, so she just nodded brusquely, and cut the communications.

"Here they come," Torian warned.

"Then let's give them a nice, warm welcome."

Modiri moved to the other stairwell, readying for yet another fight to hold this damn landing pad.

* * *

Toni tasted blood again as she was once more thrown to the floor; the random electrical shocks were getting stronger, making it harder to catch her breath between them. But even thought the ringing in her ears, the blackness at the edges of her vision, she could still see Vector. They hadn't tried to use him against her yet...

She was hauled upright by her hair, thrown back into the chair still twitching, and gasped for breath as blood trickled over her lips. Some parts of her had gone numb, while others burned bright with pain. She was fairly sure at least three of her ribs were broken, if not more, and her shoulder had been dislocated twice already.

"Agent."

Vector's voice, still somehow so calm. His connection to the nest, maybe? She could envy him that, at the moment. She wasn't even sure she had a voice left after the work they'd done thus far. It calmed her, soothed her, even knowing that he could do nothing.

"Just hold on. Someone will come-"

Her eyes widened and fury pulsed through her as his guard slammed the butt of his gun into Vector's temple, knocking him to the ground. Shaking, weak legs or not, double-visioned, and having not gone through with the plan, she still tried to lunge to her feet, wanting to hurt the man who had hurt Vector.

She only managed to throw herself to the floor, which seemed to amuse the torturer, who gave one leg a sharp kick before yanking her back onto the chair.

"Remove him, and prep her for the next round."

She wanted to snarl at them to not touch Vector; but he met her eyes squarely as he was pulled to his feet and she managed to choke the reaction down. Letting on that he was important to her, that he was precious, would only get _him_ hurt. She would break, possibly properly, if she was forced to watch them hurt him.

A tiny prick on her arm, and then kolto poured into her abused system; they didn't want her dead, after all. She couldn't give them anything if she was, and the kolto itself would help prolong the torture. She had already lost track of how long they'd been trying to break her; was it too soon to give in?

No, she could hold out. And in a way, even as she feared for Vector's safety, him being out of the room was better. He would hold to the plan, to the security it contained, far better if he didn't have to watch her be tortured.

She regretted not arguing with him further; if she'd made him stay with Modiri, or go back to the ship, would he have been better off?

Another blow rang in from the side, and she only just barely managed to keep from falling out of the chair once more. She hissed as she was wrenched to her feet, shoulder protesting the abuse, and the torture renwed.

* * *

"It's been ten hours, I'm fucking going up there," Modiri snarled. "Get out of the damn way!"

"Cipher Nine hasn't signaled for a rescue, and neither has Vector," Lokin replied calmly. "And how would you get up there anyways? There's no speeder to take, and you'd likely get shot out of the sky."

"So I'll steal something from the ground," she retorted. "Not like anyone out there can shoot straight as it is."

"And what would Cipher Nine say if you showed up before she was able to fulfill her part of the plan?" Lokin countered.

"This plan was a _stupid_ plan! There are so many better ways they could have done this," Modiri snapped.

"Such as?"

She glared at him.

"I could probably have come up with something," Gault volunteered, glancing up from his card game with Blizz and Temple. "It'd be a nice challenge."

"See?!" Modiri demanded, gesturing at the Daveronian.

"No one's arguing that it was a sound plan," Lokin replied, arms crossed over his chest. "The desperate ones usually aren't. But we owe it to Cipher Nine to let her have the full twenty-four hours before we get involved."

"...I should have blastered him the first time I laid eyes on him," Modiri grumbled as she paced over to the stairwell again.

"Who?" Lokin inquired.

"Yes."

He made a sound that suggested it wasn't a particularly helpful answer, but Modiri didn't care; she'd known Hunter was trouble from the word go, and watching him take _glee_ in using Toni's now-defunct codeword had made her want to put a blaster bolt through his face. Even being trusted to countermand the worst of the orders hadn't changed that.

An explosion on the lower floor had everyone reaching for their weapons; grenades could only stop so many mercenaries.

"Why do they have to come right as I'm about to win?" Gault complained, clicking the safety off his rifle.

"Cheating to win, you mean?" Ensign Temple said in a voice too sweet to be anything but mocking.

"Now now, no need to make such baseless accusations," he replied.

"See cards in sleeve," Blizz said in his native language. "Cheat cheat!"

"You wound me!" Gault replied dramatically.

"We won't but the mercenaries might," Modiri said irritably. "Take positions and prepare to kill some dumbasses!"

* * *

"...amazingly high pain threshold," Toni heard someone murmur as her vision cleared. "Seems to be fading in and out...

He wasn't wrong. Her mind was feeling dull, and she had no really clue as to how long she'd been in that room. She vaguely remembered being thrust into a bathroom as some point, but otherwise the best she could remember was the kolto injections; no food, and the only 'rest' she got was brief unconsciousness before they stimmed her back into awareness. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Vector...

"Look, we can do this forever," her torturer said... though he almost sounded impatient. "Ready to talk yet?"

"Didn't I tell you... to go jump out...an airlock?" she rasped.

The slap was light in comparison to the earlier hits, she was just too exhausted to avoid letting it snap her head to the side.

Was someone watching, she wondered. The holoterminal wasn't lit up, but there had to be other cameras. Why had she thought this was a good plan? It was not a good plan. And Vector... she should have made him stay behind, or tried to. Where was he? Was he being hurt, somewhere where she couldn't see it? Would they try to use him against her?

Another slap, this one one a fresh wound that made her yelp.

"What did the report _say_?"

Slowly, she managed to push herself back upright, letting her head hang low. She was so tired. _So_ tired. She spat blood onto the floor, then drew in a raspy breath. _Vector._ If he was safe... she couldn't find out with all their focus on her. She had to 'give up' the fight if she wanted to find him and get out in one piece. It still stung her pride, even knowing that everything she was about to say was a bold-faced lie.

She could only hope that their rough treatment hadn't broken the spring-loaded blades in her gauntlets, or the stim she'd palmed in preparation. If either one of those failed, she was as good as dead.

"The.. report said that.. we didn't have... enough troops," she ground out, her strained voice little more than a croak on some of the words. "Reinforcements... are coming. A new fleet from the.. Auril sector. Led by... Sith lords..."

The torturer looked away, across the room as Toni leaned a little more forward, trying to will some small amount of energy into her trembling limbs. The stim was necessary, but how much could she do on her own?

"Tell the boss," he snapped at someone out of her range of view. _"Now._ "

Toni flexed her fingers lightly in a specific manner; a small needle pressed against her wrist, though it didn't penetrate just yet. She needed him to look away for a little longer...

"Relax," he drawled, lifting her chin up and pushing her back a little against the chair. "Vacation's over. Now you get to check out."

That sounded much too ominous for her liking, and damned if she was going to let their unnecessary attack on Vector go. The needle stabbed her wrist, and the stim flooded into her system; it hurt like the electric shock, but it cleared her mind, and she thrust herself to her feet as he turned away, the blades sliding out of the gauntlets and through the ropes.

"Good. I'm done here."

He swore as she came up, and started to lift a hand, but with the specific stim in her, she was faster, the initial pain washed away in a tide of energy and euphoria. She cut his throat even before he could sound the alarm, then turned and launched herself at the guard holding her rifle, slamming her into the nearest wall with enough force to break several bones as she relieved the woman of her personal weapon. The third guard almost had a comm unit out, but one of the hidden vibroknives dealt with him.

And there was Vector in the doorway, staff in hands; she was fairly sure he'd left a trail of unconscious bodies in his wake—he always did prefer to spare life instead of take it. His expression was one of alarm mingled with disapproval and concern, but he slung his staff over one shoulder and strode quickly to her side... just in time to catch her as the stim wore off, and with it, ninety percent of her energy.

"You should not have pushed yourself," he scolded. "We had it handled."

She smiled weakly, and stifled a hiss of pain as he picked her up.

"You... c-can't run like this," she protested.

"We don't need to. The shuttle is not far, and we have already... dealt with the personnel. Rest, Toni. We will be safe soon."

For all he moved swiftly, he also moved smoothly, taking as much care as possible to not jar her. The fog of exhaustion crept in, blackness edging around her vision, but she couldn't let herself pass out. Not yet. She had to stay aware until they reached safety, and then she had to contact Keeper.

Grimly she held onto consciousness with every last bit of stubborn determination she could manage.

* * *

"Boss! Boss! Shuttle come in, shuttle, shuttle!"

It was impossible to _not_ hear Blizz's delighted yelping; the mercs had ceased coming almost four hours before, finally seeming to figure out that their people were just going to keep getting killed, which had left Modiri more antsy than ever. Almost a full damn day since that shuttle had gone, and... there it was, landing on the pad.

Vector climbed out first, then turned and caught Toni before she could do more than try to pull herself over the edge. Modiri winced for her friend; Toni looked like hell. One eye was swollen shut, and blood decorated her mouth and chin, no doubt from getting her nose broken, or her lip split. The fact that Vector wasn't even letting her _walk_ said a hell of a lot about her state, and the bounty hunter found herself wondering just how many new scars her friend would be walking away with.

But at least she was _alive_.

"I c-can..walk,"Toni protested as the group gathered around her.

"We think you should not. Ah. Doctor."

"Welcome back," Dr. Lokin said, a thin smile on his face. "We were starting to wonder if you'd make it before you time limit was up."

"I have to... call K-Keeper..."

"Fuck that," Modiri snapped. "You just went through hell and need like.. ten goddamn hours of rest!"

"While crude, Modiri is correct," Dr. Lokin said with a small nod. "No doubt you need some time in the local medical facilities to recover from... _that._ "

Toni shook her head a little, but was clearly in enough pain that she couldn't hide all of it. Which just made Modiri even _more_ upset; this plan had been stupid from the word go, and now Toni was suffering for it. And—she glanced around at the assembled people—so were they. Vector's formerly inscrutable expression was full of angry remorse; Ensign Temple looked horrified. Behind his professional mask of authority, she was pretty sure Lokin was pissed off as well. Of her people Gault couldn't look at Toni without wincing, Torian looked like he wanted to punch someone, and Blizz... was too short to reach her, but he looked like he was trying, for whatever reasons of his own.

"I n-need to-"

" _We_ will call Keeper," Vector said firmly. " _You_ will be tended to by the doctor, and you will rest until your song is no longer full of pain."

Modiri snickered as Toni looked startled, briefly rebellious, then—after looking around at the faces of her friends—resigned.

"It's h-hardly fair when you all gang up on me," she muttered.

"Vector, bring her over here, and I can do a preliminary scan and kolto injection," Lokin instructed. "Then you call Keeper and let her know that the agent has returned and is undergoing treatment."

As he moved to follow the doctor, Toni caught sight of the myriad bodies that still littered the ground.

"...did you... h-have a party or something... while I was gone?"

"Or something," Lokin replied wryly.

"So I got a little ansty," Modiri shrugged irritably as Vector carefully deposited Toni on one of the lightly damaged couches. Watching her friend wince just made her want to shoot more people.

"We think 'a little antsy' is understating it," Vector said dryly.

Modiri just shrugged irritably, and moved out of the way so that he could go call Keeper. It was probably better that he did it anyways, since she wanted to chew the woman's head off at this point.

"Ensign, go to the Imperial station and get a stretcher," Lokin instructed as he pulled out a medical scanner. "We're going to need all hands to get through the mess of people waiting outside the building."

"Torian, go with her," Modiri ordered.

Torian nodded, and the pair left at a quick trot. They would have a handful or more of mercenaries on them the minute they stepped out those doors, but the ensign had proved herself an excellent shot, and Torian was fast enough to hit someone else before they hit him.

"So much... fuss," Toni mumbled.

"Yes, well, you were away for quite a while, and we'll all be better for the chance to make sure you _don't_ aggravate your injuries further," Lokin said sternly.

Modiri saw surprise, and then the smallest hint of resigned affection. Sure, the doctor had started off being one of the stranger members, but... it was clear enough that he gave more of a damn about Toni's health than her employers.

Even if he _did_ transform into a rakghoul every now and again.

* * *

Sleep was safe—or as safe as it could be in a warzone—and Toni woke up several hours later in a room she didn't recognize, feeling rather like she'd fallen down a hillside on Hoth; everything ached, and despite the blanket covering her, she felt chilled. Her dreams had at least been kind—rather, she hadn't had any, too deep in healing slumber to remember much of anything. She doubted she'd get that sort of future consideration...

Wanting to or not, she sat up slowly, wrapping one arm around her ribs as they protested mightily, and looked around the room; It was small, neat, and mostly empty... Only Vector was there, standing at the window and staring out over the war-torn landscape.

"...where's everyone else?"

"Modiri took Blizz and went to take care of something that Darth Tormen wished of her," Vector replied, turning away from the window and moving over to the chair at the side of the bed. "Torian stands outside the door, ready to repel any trouble. Everyone else has returned to the ships, though Lokin has recommended that you stay still for several more hours. Keeper would like you to contact her once you have recovered. There is a secure connection here in the hotel."

Despite herself, Toni shifted nervously; he sounded upset, which meant he was more remote.

"Why are you angry?" she asked after a moment. "And who with?"

He softened, just a little, and sat on the bed, taking care to avoid encroaching on her space until she leaned against him. When she did, his arm wrapped around her, and she could feel his hand trembling.

"We are angry, but not with you," he said. "We do not fault Keeper for the plan, but we think there should have been a better one, one that didn't involve you getting hurt, or the anxiety that has laced everyone's songs since. We are... a little angry at ourself, for not being able to help you, for arriving too late-"

"You weren't too late," she interrupted, frowning a little up at him. "You arrived just when you needed to."

He shook his head a little, then handed her a glass.

"Lokin said you should drink all of this, and that you can complain about the taste of it when you get back to the ship," he said. Toni accepted it, sipped, and made a face. It wasn't as bad as it probably could have been, but it wasn't pleasant. "We arrived late; if we had been faster, you wouldn't have needed to kill those people."

Briefly, her grip on the glass tightened.

"They hurt you," she said, her voice cold. "They took you away."

He leaned in, and his lips brushed her temple.

"They did not harm us after the first blow," he said gently. "We were put in a room and told to wait, which we did until we decided that we had waited long enough."

Vector was not one to lie and spare her feelings... but it didn't make her feel much better. Clearly sensing that, his hold tightened just a little.

"We did not enjoy watching you suffer," Vector said softly. "But it was worse not being able to see you. We... worried that you would become too stubborn, and sustain damage that could not be treated."

"They tried," she said quietly, shuddering a little. She was going to have nightmares of that session for the rest of her life, she knew. "But for all they were... methodical, they didn't seem to be interested in causing permanent harm. I suppose killing an Imperial agent would be a bit _too_ much trouble."

She downed the rest of whatever was in the glass, coughing as it burned down her abused throat, then passed it back to him; Vector placed it on the small side table, then lightly smoothed her hair out of her face.

"We would rather not go through such an event again, if that is possible."

She snorted a little, winced, and elbowed him gently.

"Don't make me laugh; that hurts. And really, I'll take a pass on a repeat performance myself. Now then, help me up. I'd like to talk to Keeper."

"You should remain at rest-" he began, a little sternly.

"I don't think we have the time for it," she interrupted, though she kept her own tone gentle. "And we need to know, _I_ need to know, if all of that was worth it."

He sighed, then kissed her temple again, and obligingly helped her to stand; standing hurt _much_ more than sitting, but it was a dull sort of pain, the kind she could—and did—ignore. With a flip of her wrist, she pulled up the hood of the more tattered coat—it was going to need replacing soon enough, sadly—and headed for the door.


	7. Meeting the past

Meeting the past

It was almost funny how much it actually bothered her to realize that she was jealous. She had no reason to be jealous, and no right, either; Vector was Vector, and he was here, on her ship. He had made it clear that he preferred to be here, that he preferred to be _with_ _her_...

But it still made her feel moderately insecure to think about what he might have been like before he'd become a Joiner. Would he have become engaged to Anora if he hadn't become a Joiner? Would he have even _liked_ her, the Cipher agent, if they'd met then?

Toni laced her hands behind her head and stared at her ceiling; she had told him what she thought he needed to hear, and the words _were_ truthful; people changed as life did, and Vector had moved on, changed as the circumstances demanded. Anora wanted him to return to the person he had been, but that was almost an impossible feat. Even if the Joining _could_ be reversed—and who was to say that was impossible—he didn't want it, and she wasn't the kind of person who would try and force her opinion on someone else.

Besides, she liked Vector as he was. He simply seemed to want her to be _happy_ , which, given recent events, was somewhat lower on her scale of things to do. What was there to be happy _about_?

After a moment she sighed, and rolled onto her stomach, half-burying her face in her pillow; what she ought to be doing was sleeping, not fussing about some woman in Vector's past. It was the past, and he had said he felt nothing for her any longer. He was happy as he was, and that was enough.

It made her smile, just a little bit; admittedly if Vector had never become a Joiner, they never would have met, and she never would have found a sense of calm on board her ship, in this turbulent turn that life had taken. Even now, she still didn't fully trust most of the people on her ship _except_ Vector.

That said, given Kaliyo's latest escapades, the distrust in her was still well-deserved. Both Lokin and Temple, however, had been steadily growing on her. Lokin's rather acerbic humor covered well for his active concern over her physical state, and Temple... Stars, Temple was just too cute for a human. She still felt rather bad about the forced transfer, at that...

"Agent?"

Toni lifted her head slightly as Vector peered around the door frame.

"We are... sorry to interrupt, but we have something we think you ought to see."

She pushed herself upright with a mental complaint—why was it that every time she wanted a nap, something happened?—and motioned him in. When he cycled the door closed, she raised her eyebrows... and then when she caught his pensive expression, they came back down in concern.

"What's going on?" she asked, scooting to the side of the bed.

"Anora has... contacted us again. Initially we thought to ignore the message, but..."

He pulled out his holocom and hit the playback button; Anora's form popped up, looking nervous, uneasy. Toni was immediately put on alert; something about her body language didn't inspire trust.

"Vector, I know this probably isn't the best way, but... I want to meet with you. Please, just to talk for a short while? I can't... forget what we had. I still... I miss you, and I want to see you. If you'll come to Kaas City, we can go to the restaurant that we always enjoyed, and just... We can spend some time together. Like we used to. Please."

Toni pressed her lips together briefly as the message ended. He'd brought this to her for a reason, and he wasn't the sort to pit one woman against another for his affections. Especially when he didn't _feel_ affection for Anora any longer. Jealousy warred with, and lost to, a nebulous suspicion instead. Something about that whole message seemed... _off._

"We feel that it is... inadvisable," he said after a moment, putting the communicator back in its pouch. "But we also think that perhaps we should go just to tell her in person. Perhaps she is one of those who needs that."

"It feels like a trap," Toni replied with a frown. "In her previous message she implied that they could try to... reverse your Joining. I don't think you should go. Or if you decide to go, I don't think you should go alone."

"We... were hoping that you might come with us, actually," he admitted. "We do not want to cause strife, but perhaps she would accept from another non-Joiner what she cannot from me."

The rare personal pronoun was what really got her attention; Vector was Killik enough, had been with her long enough that she had grown used to, enjoyed, even, his odd speech patterns. As she had learned, had seen, the Dawn Herald could keep parts of their individualism, their own perspective, over that of the hive. But this was something outside the nest, in the realm of personal for him.

In short, this really _was_ bothering him. How could she do anything _but_ protect him?

"I'd be more than happy to accompany you to Dromund Kaas and make sure nothing happens," she said after a moment, reaching over to lay a hand on his arm. "I like you the way you are."

The admission seemed to surprise him, but after a moment, he smiled.

"We are pleased to know this."

* * *

It felt vaguely uncomfortable to be in Kaas City after so long; she hadn't reported in to the Intelligence building in what felt like years—funny how a minimum of downtime made it seem like time itself passed so much faster—and part of her rather wanted to... while the rest of her wanted to never set foot in those halls again, still angry as she was about the brainwashing nonsense. That she still worked for them was only temporary until she could figure out a way to break free of all of it.

"So, where are we going, exactly?" she asked, absently adjusting the fall of her hood. It wouldn't do for someone to catch a glimpse of her on a holofeed, not with the Star Cabal raising trouble the way it was.

"There is a restaurant in the plaza, not far from here," Vector explained. "It was not very expensive, so we would often come here during class breaks and practice our skills at reading body language."

"We being you personally, or you and Anora?"

He surprised her then by taking her hand, and she realized that she had probably sounded more jealous than curious. Despite this, he seemed to not be bothered, and only smiled at her slightly when she glanced up at him in surprise.

"It varied. We did both, though we learned quickly to make it a point to never stare at Sith."

Toni grimaced a little; she wasn't afraid of the Sith any longer, but she still treated them with more caution than Modiri. Most Sith had unreasonable down to an art form.

"I can certainly understand that. I did... something very similar when I joined the Academy."

Mostly in sheer self-defense; humans could be far more subtle than her own people, and learning to tell the difference between mockery and joking was what had allowed her to stay at the top of her class. As had a bit of subtle sabotage and rumor-mongering of her own; she hadn't been inclined to be ushered out for _any_ reason.

Foolish of her, considering the Empire's views on non-humans. But she had wanted so badly to prove herself. To ensure that the sacrifices she'd made to get so far were _worth_ something.

"Agent?"

She startled a little, and shook herself lightly, glancing up at him curiously.

"We find that we are... uneasy. Now that we are here."

Toni glanced around the plaza, then tipped her head lightly, reaching up to tap into her com.

"Ensign?"

" _Here, sir. No unusual activity that I can see._ "

"Doctor?"

" _The same_ ," Lokin replied in his crisp, professional voice. " _No extra guards, or additional monitors of any type. For the moment, all is clear._ "

Now it was Vector's turn to blink. Toni smiled a little.

"You think I'd leave this sort of thing to chance?" she teased lightly. "I don't know about you, but _I_ happen to have a healthy sense of paranoia."

That got her a chuckle, and he squeezed her hand lightly.

"We appreciate the care you take on our behalf."

Toni stayed quiet, but this time she squeezed his hand. Maybe later she would tell him that she knew all too well what happened to people who walked into uncertain situations unprepared; maybe later she _could_ tell him that she had a pit in her stomach that was fear of him disappearing, never coming back.

Maybe later, when she was certain there weren't monitors, when her comm channel wasn't open by necessity to receive verbal reports, she could find the words to articulate how much she needed the stability he gave her. Maybe even tell him why. Maybe...

She gave herself a mental shake after a moment, composing her expression into calm neutrality as they approached a small outdoor seating area, plainly attached to a nearby eatery. Reluctantly, she pulled her hand from his, taking a more professional attitude on the situation; she was here to make sure he didn't disappear. She was _not_ here to interfere with a discussion unless it turned dangerous.

" _Sir, at least three other people have turned to stare_ ," Temple reported over the secure channel. " _They're looking at Vector, and seem to be consulting datapads._ "

"...we see Anora," Vector said after a moment. He sounded almost... nervous. "She said she would meet us at the usual table, but she is much farther back than we remember our usual table being."

" _Two people just passed me wearing heavy-ass armor under their coats_ ," Kaliyo said, her cool tone almost bored. " _Looks like they're heading your way, agent. No guns, but they definitely walked like they had weapons._ "

Five on two odds weren't terrible, but now Toni was wishing she'd asked Modiri to come along as extra muscle. The bounty hunter's attitude was much more imposing, while Toni's skills lay more in making people forget she was standing there. While having Temple monitoring the coms was good, Mako probably would have been better at it, or they could have split the tasks. Granted, SCORPIO would have outstripped both of them, but as far as Toni was concerned, that droid was only a temporary addition to the crew, and as soon as she could, she was either going to dismantle SCORPIO, or find her another berth. One _far away_ from her ship and her crew.

Vector stopped at the edge of the table, next to the chair, and Anora looked up, smiling weakly.

"It's... lovely to see you again, Vector," she said, and her voice seemed just as weak as her smile. "I ordered your favorite, it should be here in a... a moment... Who's this?"

Toni took up what was usually Vector's position; standing at his back and a little to the side, giving him room to act as necessary. She also made it a point to not face the table; right now, she was acting as Vector's guard, and she took her chosen duties seriously. Scanning the plaza, she caught sight of several people congregating at the far end... they looked like Sith, and Sith in groups always spelled trouble.

Why were Sith there, actually? Other than inside the Sith Sanctuary, they tended to _hate_ being close to one another. This needed careful watching...

"She is our guard, and friend," she heard him say. Mentally she smiled; she was so much more than that, really. "We are grateful for the consideration, but... we do not intend to remain," he continued gravely. "We are appreciative of your concern, Anora, but we are who we are, and we are content in this."

"Vector, it's not _right_ what was done to you!" Anora said insistently. "You're _human_ , not... _this_."

Toni did her best not to bristle at Anora's tone; Imperials who were in Intelligence or the Diplomatic corps tended to have more open minds than the an average, run-of-the-mill person, but on a whole the Empire didn't like someone if they weren't human. Anora, it seemed, was no different.

We are an ally to the Empire, and work directly with their best agent. We would not be thus if we were not also the Dawn Herald of our nest. We do not regret the path our life has taken. That is all we wished to say. Please excuse us."

Toni heard Anora's chair clatter, and half-turned to give the human woman a sharp look. Anora looked upset, and had reached out to grab Vector by the arm; it took a lot to keep herself from smacking those grasping hands off, and his careful attempts at extraction didn't help Toni's temper any.

" _Sir, there are a_ lot _of Sith at the far end of the plaza_ ," Temple reported, her voice worried. Toni half-turned away, focusing on the words to distract from the irritation. " _I think something's going on over there that you might want to be elsewhere for_."

" _I agree,_ " Lokin cut in. " _It would appear that a number of heavily armored droids are also beginning to circle the area. Leaving the plaza in haste seems like a sound plan._ "

"I said _excuse_ me," Anora repeated, her tone turning a little strident. "Are you _listening?"_

"You're excused," Toni shot without really thinking about it. Then grimaced a little; she'd been hanging around Modiri far too much recently, and it was showing in her speech patterns. "What?"

"Well, you're his... his friend. Can't you talk him into it? He's human, he's supposed to _be_ human, not... not a..."

Toni turned to face the woman squarely, battling her annoyance. She considered and discarded a handful of replies, trying to walk the line of someone too busy to deal with this sort of petty nonsense.

"Firstly, it's very rude to talk about someone as if they're not standing right there. Vector, I apologize for it."

"We are not insulted," he said mildly, a small smile flickering across his face.

" _Secondly_ , I like Vector as he is. And he says he prefers to be this way. Just because _you_ want him to return to his old self doesn't mean-"

The explosion at the far end of the plaza had her whirl, reaching for her rifle as she did so. Said far end had cleared of civilians... and those who hadn't cleared out weren't likely to be alive, considering the spread of the rubble. It hadn't come flying their way, at least, but when she glanced over her shoulder to make sure Vector wasn't in danger, she saw Anora latched onto his arm again.

She turned back, and tapped her earpiece.

"What the hell is going on?" she snapped.

" _Sith games_ ," Lokin said, his tone acerbic. " _I recognize this. They release some slaves and prisoners, and if they can make it to a designated safe zone before the Sith apprentices catch them, they're free. Theoretically._ "

"Tch. Temple, I need a route out. Now."

Going _towards_ the Sith was a bad idea in general. Worse if they were playing some power-games, which... they were Sith. Those were unavoidable. But this plaza was a deathtrap, and the Sith were crowded near the only real exit.

" _Working... Okay. Go out through the restaurant at your left; there's a sewer that can get you all the way out of the city. Or somewhere else_ in _the city, if you'd like._ "

She nodded, and glanced at Vector. As long as they made it to a safe place, she'd be content.

"It's not safe to walk by Sith," he observed. "Especially not when they are actively causing damage."

The dry delivery of the obvious made her smile a little, if tightly. Just one of the things she enjoyed about him, really. Had he always possessed that sort of humor? Would it vanish if he became a full human again?

Why was she wondering this? He wasn't going to change. He'd already said as much.

"There's a way out through the restaurant itself. Should be a sewer grate of some type, that will get you out of the area. Take Anora and get moving," she instructed.

Vector's eyebrows creased slightly in a frown.

"We are not leaving you behind."

The smile softened slightly; lightly she patted his arm.

"I'm not taking on a group of Sith, Vector, but it might be easier to... evade the Sith by subduing their target so that they stop blowing holes in things."

She winced as her statement was punctuated by a crack of lightning and the sound of an angry screech; Sith in groups _never_ ended well. It was going to degenerate sooner rather than later, and she didn't want him in range of furious Sith. The nonsense of the Dread Masters still weighed heavy on her mind, despite Modiri's apology to him over what had happened.

"It's not up for discussion," she said, giving him a sharp push. "They're not fighting each other yet, but there's no guarantee that it'll continue. Patch Temple into your com, and she can direct you through the sewers until you're safe. Now _go_."

Vector looked like he might protest again, but Toni was turning away already. It _bothered_ her to leave him with that woman, but dealing with the Sith and their 'games' really did come first. Even with the available armored droids and Sith Enforcers to make sure none of the apprentices died, that consideration wouldn't extend to the general populace if they were unfortunate enough to investigate.

She ducked behind another table as a nearby piece of stone paving was lifted and launched at an inoffensive-seeming group of slaves—they still had their shock collars on, albeit plainly deactivated for this nonsense.

Sith, she mentally groused, were just too damn high-strung and arrogant.

" _Agent, if you're going to get involved, I suggest starting with those three Cathar_ ," Lokin said. " _If they get much further into the town, the casualties are only going to multiply._ "

"On it."

Toni reached into a side-pouch, and loaded the rifle with a few stun darts; remove the reason for the Sith to get violent, and with any luck, they'd take their prizes and leave.

" _Sir, Vector and Anora are in the sewers, but the com keeps cutting out. I'm not too sure how well he can hear me in there, but I'll keep trying. I've plotted at least four safe exits, and two of them are near Kaliyo._ "

" _I've got my eye on em_ ," the Ratataki woman confirmed. " _If they end up here, I'll catch them._ "

Toni nodded, then ducked from cover to cover, working her way towards the poor Cathar slaves that had been temporarily forgotten as the Sith attacked one another in their bid to win.

Goddamn Sith and their power plays...

* * *

Torian would almost have considered it a good day; Imperial space meant no stupid Republic soldiers trying to shoot him, and he had enough credits on hand to replace some of his gear that had been worn to bits.

And if he might have been looking for something to buy Modiri, well, he wasn't going to admit to it. Trying to find something that might appeal to her was a little tricky, but maybe a new mod for her blaster...? Or the barrel was getting pretty worn too.

He'd spotted Vector walking into the plaza, trailed by a smaller figure that could only have been Toni, and had spared a moment to wonder what they were doing before he'd decided it wasn't really his business. If they'd wanted company or help, he knew Toni would have contacted Modiri about it. She was smart like that.

Still, he kept a casual watch on the entrance; when Sith swarmed in, he became concerned. When they started throwing lightning around, he ducked behind the nearest solid bit of stonework, and contacted Modiri.

"Hey, Mo... Sith just attacked a plaza."

"And?"

"Toni and Vector walked in there about five minutes ago."

She stared at him for a minute, then scowled.

"Want me to move in?" he asked.

"Keep an eye on it, and move in if the need help. I'll get Mako on the holofrequencies, see what she can glean. Don't bounce a com to them until you know it's safe."

He nodded shortly, and cut the com, peering out carefully from behind his chosen pillar. He couldn't see Toni _yet_ , but in her own way she was just as crazy as Modiri; there wasn't much chance she _wouldn't_ get involved.

If this was what it was like to have a younger sibling, he was glad his were only in spirit.

* * *

Vector was not very comfortable with escorting Anora through the sewers. By all rights he should be back with Toni, watching her back and making sure those Sith didn't cause her harm. The scents and auras in the sewer were also more than minorly overwhelming... as was Anora's insistence on leading the way, even though he was attempting to follow Ensign Temple's instructions that would bring them to safety.

" _-ector, you're goin-... -eed to turn le-... -an you hear m-_ "

The interference from building materials was not helping, and finally Vector pulled to a halt, reaching for the physical communicator. Perhaps if he used it to boost the range of the audio connection, he could hear Temple better.

Right as he did, Anora slipped, and her hands flew out, knocking the com into the murky sewer filth as she tried to avoid falling. Vector managed to keep her upright, then frowned down at the murky water; the com was protected against such things, but now he had lost his way of effective communication with both Ensign Temple and Toni. And that was not pleasing.

"We should fetch that."

"It's probably washed away already," Anora said quickly, looking sheepish. "I'm terribly sorry about this, I had no idea-"

Even this far from his nest, he felt the soothing murmur of a thousand other voices, urging him towards calm, soothing his agitation. It helped, but the moment he thought about being disconnected from Toni, from the ensign, the unease reared its head again, and he found himself looking back along the path they had taken, having not heard a single word Anora had been trying to say.

"Vector, are you listening?"

"We must go back," he said after a moment, nodding firmly. "There seems to be little dangers here, and you also seem to know where you are going. The agent must not be left alone with the Sith; she will get hurt."

"...the agent? Your... friend?"

"Yes."

"Why are you worried about her, then? Intelligence..." Anora shook her head after a moment. "Do you care so much more about her than me?"

"We promised to be at her side and disposal," Vector replied, a little puzzled by Anora's reaction. "We prefer to ensure she suffers few injuries. She can be reckless."

Anora's interest bothered him, and had him keeping his sentences shorter than usual; true, Toni herself had said they shouldn't—couldn't—display too much affection in public spaces. It wasn't safe. He didn't disagree with her assessment, but confronted with the fact that he was standing beside the wrong person, he was not watching her back the way he ought...

It wasn't right for him to be here.

"Vector... I'm really sorry about this..."

Anora was almost his height; he'd forgotten that, having grown used to Toni's shorter frame. The cold metal collar that snapped abruptly around his neck made him go still as betrayal cascaded through his system, echoed from a thousand voices. The collar hummed slightly, the electrons singing in silent warning.

"We're going to make you better, I promise," Anora said, though her tone was almost miserable to his ears. "I know people that can reverse this, and soon, you'll be the way you were."

"...we are content the way we _are_ ," he said, struggling to avoid a response more fitting of Toni's friend Modiri. "We are Dawn Herald of the Oroboro nest, and we do not desire that to change."

"I'm sorry, but you're not in your right mind. The collar is only temporary; you'll see, once the doctors help you, and you go back to normal, it will be better."

Vector looked down those few inches at Anora, judging both body language and pheromones; she was trembling, her eyes tear-bright, and she thought herself in the right. The shock collar wouldn't allow him to get very far away from her before it activated, but he was tempted to test the range.

"The agent will not be pleased by this," he observed finally.

"You're supposed to be part of the diplomatic corps, not at the beck and call of some... _alien_ who thinks she's an asset to the Empire!"

He went silent, feeling offended on Toni's behalf, but not quite able to articulate why the attitude bothered him. Instead, when Anora started walking, he waited to see just how much distance he could garner; she was maybe two feet away when the collar activated and gave him a sharp, nasty jolt that knocked him to his knees. The earpiece squealed in anger, and he winced as he pulled it out and got to his feet; the delicate electronic piece was going to need as much replacing as the original holocom.

He had no way of contacting the ensign, and no way of getting to Toni. Anora had implied that the doctors she was bringing him to would reverse his Joining, take him away from the hive mind that he found comfort and peace in. Take away the purpose he had for the Killiks, and leave him alone in his own mind again.

As he followed Anora through the sewers, he could only hope for one thing; that his allies would find him first.

* * *

Toni gasped for breath as the purple lightning crawled over her skin; unlike the time with Darth Zhorrid, this lightning actually _did_ hurt, and she could do very little for a moment except struggle to breathe.

So, maybe she shouldn't have started trying to dart the Sith into unconsciousness. She'd been _trying_ to make them stop fighting, but unfortunately, when given a common enemy, Sith were as quick as any other group to start working together.

It didn't help that most of the droids were slag at that point. Useless things hadn't even been able to catch the downed slaves.

She yanked her commlink out of her ear as it crackled and squalled; she was definitely going to need a new one after all this. Hell, she was probably going to need a new holocom _period_ after all that.

"Don't say this often, but maybe you hang around Mo too much," Torian offered as he injected kolto into her upper arm. "Her job to find the fights, not yours."

"Funny man," she grumbled, pushing him slightly... but not enough to knock him out of their haphazard cover. "What're you even doing here anyways?"

"Was close by. Saw the fight. Saw you go in before the fight started."

"Tch."

She might have been too focused then, to miss seeing him. True on a normal day none of them really stood out, but still.

"Extraction ideas?"

"...it's probably a lost cause at this point, but if we duck into the restaurant, there's a sewer exit that gets us out of the area," she said after a moment. "The ensign is supposed to be walking Vector and Anora through it right now..."

Vector... she hadn't _wanted_ to send him away, but she couldn't risk a civilian getting hurt by Sith bullshit. She could only hope that he was okay, and that they were safely out of range. Of course, she wasn't going to be able to find out _now_...

Actually.

No, escape the situation first, _then_ find out if Vector and Anora had made it out.

Toni peered carefully over the top edge of the cover, then ducked quickly, just barely missing a shock to the face; it sped overhead close enough to make her hair try to stand on end under the hood.

"I don't have enough stun darts for all of them," she muttered. "And even being Intelligence won't help if one of them die."

"So let's take the back door and get out," Torian urged, pulling at her arm carefully.

The Sith would likely just go back to attacking each other, but at least now the rest of the civilians had gotten the memo. So Toni nodded, and they crept through their cover, eventually breaking for the restaurant, ducking a stray shot of lightning. Sprinting through the unlocked door, they passed the huddled staff and through the kitchen, out to the alleyway Temple had marked on the datapad's map. The sewer grate was still slightly askew, and she wondered if that had been Vector, or if someone else had made use of the exit.

"...Torian, can you contact Kaliyo for me? My com was fried. I want to know if Vector and Anora made it out safely."

She wanted to catch up to Vector, really, but hearing they were safe would be a close second for comfort.

Torian nodded, and pulled out the visual unit, quickly patching in Kaliyo's code.

" _Yeah? Oh, hey agent. Picked up a Mando, I see._ "

"Joke later, report now; are they out?"

Kaliyo shook her head.

" _Not a sign. The signal got worse the farther in the went, or at least, that's what Temple was whining about. She was pretty sure he wasn't able to hear shit._ "

"...damnit. Does she have a fix on his com?"

" _It's been stuck in the same place for a few minutes, somewhere in there. Dunno if it means he's fighting or waiting._ "

Toni frowned a little, lightly drumming her fingers on her hip. If the com signal was dodgy, she wasn't sure she really _wanted_ to go down into the sewers. And that was without her own finicky nature rearing its head. But Vector was down there, either lost or in trouble... and she wouldn't leave him by himself.

"Mo would kill me if I let you go alone, so don't say it," Torian said as he disconnected.

"...I don't think she'd _kill_ you. She likes you a bit too much for that."

Amusingly, she saw a flash of color cross his face, before he gave her a glare that lacked any real heat.

"Point stands. Going in?"

Toni looked around the alley for a few moments more, sighed, and nodded. She would just have to clear her clothes exceptionally well before she wore them again.

* * *

Torian had weathered Modiri's attitude for months now, and would be the first to say that the pair of bounty hunter and Imperial agent were total opposites. Where Modiri got mad and bulled ahead, Toni got cold and methodical. Oh, Toni could lose her temper, sure, but on a whole, she was much more calm and collected. She had _plans_ , and even when they basically amounted to 'kill everything in the room' she still went about it with precision.

Watching her stand at the edge of the wall where they had managed to trace Vector's holocom, he was suddenly not so certain that they were as opposite as he'd thought.

Toni's shoulder's were tight, and she was as still as a statue. Her face lacked any expression, and it wasn't a professional mask... it seemed more like a refusal to display anything, and somehow that was chilling. If she'd been force sensitive, or a Sith, Torian was willing to bet that he'd be seeing lightning ripple over her in waves. This wasn't just her being upset, this was a whole host of emotions, and all of them were in danger of culminating into a clarifying rage.

And maybe it was a bit cowardly, but he damn well didn't want to be the person on the receiving end. So he stayed still, waiting in silence as the sewer water dripped down from overhead, watching what he could see of Toni's face.

"How's your connection down here?" she asked finally.

Her voice was so calm. Modiri was still at the top of his list for deadly tempers, but Toni was bumped up the list to just below.

"...Mako can you hear me?" he said after a moment, tapping into the audio link.

" _-rian? Hang on some inter-... et me adju-... Okay! There. That should work. What's up?_ "

"Some chick's run off with Vector. We need you to find him."

" _With_ Vector? _Who's stupid enough to do that? Where's Toni?_ "

"Here and waiting answers. Her comm got fried." He glanced at Toni, and didn't know if the calm waiting was worse than the cold fury. He decided he also didn't _want_ to know. "His com got left in the sewer. We need eyes, Mako."

" _On it._ "

"Patch in Ensign Temple," Toni instructed quietly. "She was-"

A rustle in the muck behind them had Toni whipping around, just in time to bat away a stun grenade as a group of Sith and their entourage exited out of the tunnels. She hissed something that he decided he didn't actually want to hear, and threw down portable cover.

Clearly the Sith were not going to let them get out without a proper throw down.

* * *

Though he was troubled to admit it, by the time they came out of the sewers Vector felt rather hopelessly lost. The tunnels themselves had held a myriad of less than pacifistic droids and other inhabitants, and being forced to defend Anora from those hazards had worn on him.

But she was the one who had the code to unlock his collar; she was the one who carried the device that made it shock him if he got too far ahead or behind. He had no choice... and in good conscience, he couldn't just stand aside and let someone with no combat experience be attacked.

It was annoying to realize just how little choice he had in the matter. It was humbling to realize that he should have gone with his first instinct, to ignore the message. And he still worried about Toni; against all those Sith, with no other physical back up, how would she fare? She was a good shot, an excellent fighter; but _Sith_...

"We're almost there," Anora said, giving him a tentative smile. "Don't fuss so, Vector. You'll see soon! It'll be all right."

"We are not worrying on our behalf."

She looked perturbed by the brusque tone, and said nothing else, allowing Vector a chance to glance at the nearby chronometer. They had been underground for a good twenty minutes... How long before Toni would come?

How much time before they ran out?

* * *

"How's your com?" Toni asked as she carefully checked over the Sith bodies.

"Fried," Torian grunted in disgust. "Stupid lightning."

She half-smiled in understanding, nodding a little as she was suitably assured that all the idiots were breathing, if unconscious. Vector, she thought, would have been impressed. Or, well, she hoped he would have; it took precious time incapacitating them over just killing them, but Sith tended to get a little... _pissy_ if someone killed their own. No matter the fact that most Sith seemed to hate one another, and she wasn't as _all_ sure how the Dark Council managed to even function considering the myriad power plays put into action.

Most done, no doubt, by the damned Star Cabal.

Still, it put them out of touch with all of their backup, and meant they would have to do things the hard way.

"Let's get back up to street level," Toni decided after a moment. "If nothing else, Mako and Temple can see us through the holofeeds, and we might get lucky."

Torian nodded, and they turned to head back up into fresher air.

Toni was hanging on to a semblance of calm by a thread, and she had the sense that Torian knew it. Granted, he wasn't a verbose person by nature, but he was being more laconic, more _wary_ than normal.

Well, that was fine. She didn't need external input on this, really. It would be a shame to hurt someone like Anora, but if Vector was harmed in any way, she wasn't going to let her get away with it.

* * *

" _Got him!_ " Mako cheered over the link. " _They just came out of an alley in the medical district! Here, these are the coordinates! It looks like they're heading for this building at the center of the block, so you'd better hurry._ "

"Thanks Mako," Modiri said, flipping to the map screen of her datapad. "Anything from Torian or Toni?"

" _No, I think the fight with the Sith shorted out his com._ " A pause. "... _Oh no_."

"Oh no _what?_ "

" _I got a better view, and I know why Vector's still following this lady. She put him in a shock collar._ "

Modiri whistled lowly, and it was echoed by Kaliyo, who'd left her post the minute it became clear enough that Vector and Anora weren't going to be turning up in her area.

"Man, if you wanted to piss off the agent, I can't think of another way to do it," the Ratataki woman said after a moment. "She's going to go _orbital._ Whatever protection this chick has, it's not going to be enough to save her life."

Modiri had a good reason to move at her best possible speed; she honestly liked Vector, and there was no way of measuring how upset this was going to make Toni. In their months working as a team, she'd seen a lot from the Chiss woman, learned about her moods and what could trigger certain reactions; she'd gone from a somewhat idealistic, marshmallow sort of agent to someone who was just absolutely _done_ with her own employers, and only hanging on to that employ by a thread.

Really, she would make an excellent partner as another bounty hunter, but Mo hadn't quite convinced her yet.

"Mako, Temple, can you figure out where they're going?"

" _Well, there's really only one place to go if you're going to try and reverse a Joining, and that's the experimental facility_ ," Ensign Temple said after a moment.

" _Of course there's a place like that in Kaas,_ " Mako said dryly.

" _The coordinates are here, but it's going to be difficult to get in without some form of ID. Um..._ " Temple went silent for a minute. " _Dr. Lokin's on his way now. He'll meet you outside the facility._ "

" _It looks like Anora's moving at a calmer pace to avoid making people stare,_ " Mako theorized after a few more moments as Modiri consulted her map, Kaliyo peering over the Mirialan woman's shoulder. " _If you take this route, that'll cut some of your travel time, and you should be able to beat them there._ "

" _I've got an eye on the holofeeds around the doors,_ " Temple broke in. " _There's a back door that she'll probably try to use... Lokin says to meet him there, just in case._ "

"Got it. Keep me posted if anything changes. Once you spot Toni and Torian, send Gault to them with the info... but maybe leave off the bit about the collar."

No point in setting Toni off without a clear target, after all.

* * *

Vector didn't much care for the smells and auras that surrounded the hospital district of the city. Pain, fear, illness, grief; they all battered at him like hail, and his own ability to remain calm was being heavily tested the closer Anora drew to a squat building, somewhat overlooked by everyone they passed. It had no visible main entrance, and only a few windows, set very high up where no one could look in. Half of it was behind a tall fence, and Anora led him to one corner of it, scanning an ID slot to open an unobtrusive gate.

Once beyond the gate, however, other things filtered in. Aura's he recognized, though not the one he'd hoped for. Still if Lokin and Kaliyo were there, surely Toni could not be far behind.

Another ID scanner, another door swung open. Anora headed in, then stopped short so suddenly that he almost ran into her.

The room beyond was actually quite small; it seemed to be more a receiving room than anything else... one that had been made a shambles of. A light fixture was still showering a few sparks, and if there was meant to be a staff member there, they weren't in evidence.

But Kaliyo, Lokin, and Modiri were.

"You know, there's smarter ways to go about pissing people off," Modiri said. She almost sounded cheerful. "Especially us."

Vector relaxed; if Modiri was there, Toni was _definitely_ on the way.

"Wh-who are you people?" Anora demanded, sounding more afraid than anything else. "What are you doing here?"

"Lady, we're your worst nightmare," Kaliyo smirked a little.

"Properly speaking, that would be Cipher Nine," Lokin corrected calmly. There was a cold light in his eyes as he regarded Anora, however, and Vector found himself realizing that the doctor was _highly_ offended. "Who should be joining us shortly."

"And if you're smart, you'll take that thing off his neck, and go sit down quietly like a good girl before she gets here."

"We were expecting a bit more vehemence," Vector said when Anora failed to respond.

"Nah, we'll let the agent be the one to explode," and Kaliyo's smirk widened. "It should be fun to watch."

"We're switching things up this time. I get to be the nice one today," Modiri said in a deadpan.

"I-I..." Anora spluttered for a few minutes. "Don't you see, he _has_ to be turned back! He's _human_ , not... not _this!_ "

"I mean, I know Imperials are racist fucks, but this is a bit much, even for that," Kaliyo commented offhandedly.

"He is who he is, and it seems to have escaped your notice that he's happy like this," Modiri said bluntly. "And frankly, _we_ like him that way. So get the collar off him, and sit your ass down before Toni gets here and decides she wants to shoot you in the face for grabbing him like this."

"...perhaps you are over-estimating the agent's anger?" Vector said, a little cautiously.

"Man, you're the one who's always going out with her and shit," Kaliyo shook her head a little. "You _can't_ be that clueless."

"Belsavis," Lokin said quietly, when Vector started to object again.

The reminder of the planet where they had collected SCORPIO stilled him; Toni had carried a level of simmering anger in her song that had nothing to do with her current relations to Intelligence that had begun only after the droid had attempted to use a gas that controlled a person's mind, and enhanced their aggression. When they had finally made it into the Megasecurity ward, meeting SCORPIO face to face, she had been far more aggressive than usual, even outstripping Modiri's usual bombardment of damage. And considering Modiri carried _missiles_ that was impressive.

She had implied much in the past, and she was not... physically affectionate with anyone else in the same manner she was with him. She took greater care with their public relationship, to make it seem like it was professional, but when it was _just_ them-

"Why," came the icy, cultured voice from behind them, "is Vector wearing a shock collar?"

"Oh shit," he heard Gault mutter.

Modiri sighed, and shook her head a little; Vector carefully turned to see Toni framed in the doorway; hood down and expression cold as Hoth. Torian edged carefully around Toni until he was standing with the bounty hunter; Lokin and Kaliyo prudently stepped behind what was left of the receiving counter.

The air was full of her song, of the cold, deadly fury that was Toni's temper... but it was still not unleashed. The fact that he could _taste_ the anger, but she showed nothing more than icy professionalism was almost... frightening.

"I told you so," Modiri said, nodding a little at Torian. "Should've taken it off before she got here."

Anora paled, and then paled further and started stumbling backwards as Toni slowly moved forward. It was a prowl, not a stomp, and Vector hesitated briefly, not entirely sure he wanted that fury to be directed at him in any manner. This was an anger different, almost _worse_ , than what had been seen on Belsavis. He was almost... mesmerized.

But when her fingers flicked and a vibroknife landed in her palm, he reached out to catch her wrist.

* * *

His touch was like a bucket of ice water; Toni stilled immediately, but her anger, her _absolute fury_ was only paused, not ablated. The continued presence of the collar, the sight of that cold metal on his neck, only helped it to grow.

But this was Vector. She _would not_ hurt him.

"Let go," she said quietly.

"We do not wish for you to hurt her," Vector replied.

"She put you in a _shock collar_."

"Yes," he agreed.

"She wanted to take away the Joining!"

"Yes."

"And you _don't_ want me to hurt her?!"

"I'm not sure he's capable of wanting anyone hurt..." Modiri put in from where she was leaning against the wall.

Toni spared a moment to give her Mirialan friend a sour look, though she had to admit that Mo was probably correct. Reluctantly, she allowed Vector to pull her arm back, though he didn't try to take the knife from her.

"We are not injured sufficiently for this level of anger," he said quietly, very carefully squeezing her wrist. "We understand her desires, even if we do not agree with them."

There was more he wasn't saying, more he was trying to get her to understand through subtle body language. Shifting her attention to him seemed to free Anora from her paralysis; she tried to bolt. Toni started to yank her wrist from his grip, then stopped as Torian casually slid his vibrostaff into the way of the fleeing woman, tripping her headlong into the wall.

It would have been amusing if Vector's collar hadn't snapped to life, knocking him to his knees with a sharp jolt that almost took Toni off her feet as well. She cast Torian a glare, even as Modiri lightly punched the life-long Mandolorian's shoulder with an irritated look.

"Shit, sorry," Torian muttered, scrambling a little to grab Anora and bring her back within range before the collar could shock them again.

"Look, you give up the codes, get the collar off, and I'm sure we can talk Toni down from the clear murder she wants to commit," Modiri drawled a little. "Or I have Blizz do it, and no one but Vector stands between her and you."

"I-I-I," Anora stammered, looking from Torian to Modiri, to Toni. "But... he should-"

"He should _what_?" Toni demanded, shaking her head sharply to clear it. Vector remained kneeling, still stunned, and that only made her more upset. "Listen to _you?_ Give up a path that _you_ don't understand, but _he_ enjoys? Whatever you might think, he is his own person, and he is perfectly capable of deciding what it is he wants to do with _his_ _life."_

Briefly her mind flashed back to Alderaan, and she stifled a wince; then-Keeper hadn't exactly given Vector a _choice_ in joining her... but he had made the best of the situation, and hadn't it turned out right in the end?

Something to think about, to talk about, later.

"And just because what he wants isn't what you want is _no damned reason_ to put a collar on him and _force_ him into what you want!" she continued, moving away from Vector to stare up into the face of the diplomat. "He's made his choice, it had _nothing_ to do with you, me, or even the Empire. Now _give me the code_."

"I don't know it!" Anora burst out, actively cringing back against Torian, as if he'd protect her from Toni's wrath. "I took it from the sorting room, I didn't see any codes!"

Toni rifled her pockets, and came up with the portable 'leash' that allowed masters to take their slaves off the grounds with them, out of range of house sensors and terminals. This she tossed to Vector; it would prevent any further shocks. Then she grabbed Anora by the front of her shirt; Torian prudently released the woman so that Toni could drag her towards a door that led to another room.

"Blizz, get started on taking this thing apart," Modiri said, her tone bored.

"Agent-" Vector started to protest.

And then Toni was through the door, and the rest of his words were lost.

* * *

Vector sat in silence while Blizz swiftly worked to take apart the shock collar, holding the 'leash end' in both hands while he considered what had just happened through eyes other than his own. Anora had conspired to bring him here against his will and the will of the nest, to remove what made him a Joiner. He did not _want_ that, but he had not been in a position to stop it.

His allies had stepped in, and mitigated the trouble, but now Toni was once again out of sight, and her anger still sang in the air like snow on the mountains of Alderaan. Would Anora come back unharmed, or would Toni's temper lead her to cause harm to someone who was not armed, who used words instead of weapons to fight...?

No. He had to trust that Toni, no matter her anger, no matter how _vindictive_ she might get, would leave Anora in one piece. She was methodical, precise, and above all, practical.

But he still wished he could be in there, listening to the words. Knowing what she said instead of just how she felt. Because under the anger was the bitter taste of fear, and if there was something that could scare Toni, he ought to know about it.

Right?

"Any adverse effects from that shock?" Lokin asked, his brisk, professional tone breaking into Vector's thoughts. "How are you feeling?"

"We still... tingle. But it is fading. We will recover."

"You know, I always knew Kaas City was good for something more than their beers. But I think I'll hit a cantina before I get back to the ship," Kaliyo said, heading for the door. "The buzz lasts longer."

Vector blinked as she walked out, and Lokin shook his head a little.

"I'll have better luck getting Cipher Nine's attention back on the ship," the elder doctor said, straightening after a minute. "But from the looks of her, she'll need some tending."

"We have kolto," Vector said after a minute, trying not to wince as Blizz shorted out a circuit. "We will... tend to her."

"Then I'll head back as well. Try and convince her to take it a bit slow. You'll both probably need it."

Vector nodded, and Lokin followed Kaliyo. Gault, after tossing Modiri a pouch, also booked it, looking like he wanted to be _anywhere else_. Modiri opened the pouch, and dropped a new holocom on Vector's lap, then passed another one to Torian.

"Had him grab them when we figured out you'd lost contact," she explained as Blizz muttered something that sounded rude, twisting a part of the collar in his hands. "What the hell happened, anyways?"

"We are... a little uncertain ourself," he admitted. "Anora was once very dear to us, and seemed unable to accept that we are... as we are. So we—I—asked the agent to come and help explain it. This outcome was... unexpected."

But was it really? Toni had certainly tried to prepare for something to go wrong. That she hadn't succeeded was going to weigh on her, he knew. She took failure so... _personal._ Mission failure was not an option to her, but this hadn't been a mission. This had been a personal request, from him to her, and she hadn't _really_ failed. He was still himself.

Would Toni see it that way, however? Was that why she had dragged Anora into the other room, had been so willing to threaten harm to get the codes for the collar?

There had to be a way to address this that let her know he wasn't upset with her, that she _hadn't_ made mistakes.

"You're not the stupid sort. How'd you get grabbed?"

"Toni... insisted we take Anora away from the Sith that were hunting down slaves," he replied after a moment. "We did not enjoy leaving her behind, but we did not think Anora to be a threat, and she was unarmed. When we could not hear Ensign Temple, we tried to pull out the holocom, but it was knocked into the sewer, and from there, Anora put the collar on us." He paused, then looked up at them, earning a faint mutter from Blizz. "How did you know to come find us?"

"Saw you head into the plaza, and then watched Sith go in," Torian replied with a shrug. "When things blew up, I figured backup was in order."

"We are grateful."

Modiri snorted a little, but said nothing as Blizz cheered, the collar clicking open at last. Vector rubbed his neck gratefully, then started to get to his feet.

"We should, perhaps, check on her..."

"You do that," Mo nodded a little, smirking slightly. "We'll hang out here til you guys come out."

Something about that was almost ominous, but Vector couldn't quite say why. Still, it was good to have Modiri, Torian and Blizz watching the door; the last thing any of them needed was for more of Toni's enemies to try and drop in on them.

He was still... careful when he stepped into the next room. It was also small, and a bit of a mess; clearly the advance group had cleared the place out, and destroyed it for good measure. A door at the far end of the room had just finished swinging shut as he passed his gaze over it, but he couldn't smell or taste any blood; there was anger, there was restraint, fear, a host of negative emotions...

But Toni stood alone in the room, hood still pushed back to reveal the deep blue of her hair under the wavering lights, and he walked up to her with care.

"...I let her go," she said after a moment, her voice clipped. "Hopefully with a greater respect for the autonomy of other people."

With care, he reached out and put his hands on her shoulders, turning her gently to face him. Her hands came up to grip his wrists, far tighter than she usually did, and her aura tasted of anger laced deeply with fear. The fact that none of it showed on her face was probably a testament to her training more than anything else, but it... hurt him to see how forcibly she was restraining herself.

"We should return to the ship now," he said gently. "Your injuries need tending."

"My... oh," and she made a slight face, the neutrality falling away like ice on Tatooine. Her hands loosened, then dropped entirely from his wrists. If not for the taste of anger and fear, he would have thought her to be calm once more. "I'm fine. Torian patched me up after we dealt with the idiot Sith, and we were pretty much unmolested after that. Are you hurt at all?"

"We are well," he said reassuringly, giving her a small smile. "Though our legs are still.. tingling a little."

"Well then, we should get you back to the ship so you can rest up," she said, her tone turning brisk and professional as she flipped her hood up. "Where's Mo and the rest?"

"Modiri, Torian, and Blizz remain in the main room, watching for us," he said, falling in on reflex as she headed for the door back. "Everyone else had returned to their prior work."

She nodded a little, and pushed back out into the main room.

* * *

The walk back to the plaza was mostly done in silence, for which Toni was grateful; she didn't want to talk about the great, yawning pit of fear that had swamped her when she had realized Vector was not just gone but _taken_. The fear that had turned to cold fury, the exacting, _specifics_ of everything she'd said she would do to Anora if she even so much as _breathed_ in Vector's direction again.

What was arguably worse was that she had meant every word of it. Anora would have lived a horribly long time, suffused with as much pain as physically possible, if Vector had been altered in any way against his will.

Was it the after-effects of the brainwashing serum that made her emotions swing this erratically out of control? She hadn't been like this before... Before was almost a dream, really. The Academy, Hutta, the early months figuring out how to work with Modiri, Kaliyo always at her back... Work for Intelligence hadn't been so fraught then.

Stars. Maybe she was just tired. Maintaining that anger, controlling it to be put to good use, had taken a lot more energy than she'd thought it might. And she wasn't going to subject Vector to her moods if she was being _this_ irrational.

"Thank you for the help," she said as they reached the speeder that would get them to the spaceport.

Torian shrugged lightly, nodding a little in acknowledgment.

"You should have just asked for it from the start," Modiri replied.

"I didn't think we'd _need_ it," Toni replied crossly.

"That wasn't what I meant, and you know it."

Before Toni could snap out something else, Vector lightly touched her arm.

"We are also grateful," he said calmly. "We should have kept you informed, but we thought it best to try and handle this without the extra oversight. We apologize."

"Just remember, you've got friends willing to help," Modiri said.

Toni sighed quietly; yes, she should have told Modiri from the start. Having _more_ people instead of less might have prevented the whole mess from spiraling out of control so badly, might have avoided...

Modiri's light, friendly punch was followed by Torian sticking his hand on her head and then pushing her hood down a bit more to obscure her vision. She squawked, and turned, ready to smack at least _one_ Mandalorian, but Modiri jumped into the taxi with a grin, Torian and Blizz swiftly following. She made a rude gesture as their taxi took off, and heard Vector laughing softly behind her.

"We wish to apologize to you as well," he said gently as they waited the return of a different taxi. "We did not mean to cause you great worry."

"...it's fine, Vector," she replied, waving a hand slightly. "In the words of Modiri, 'shit happens.' You're... still here. That's what matters."

As the remotely piloted vehicle landed, a civilian climbing out, Vector rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Still. We apologize."

"Well, I forgive you," she replied, admittedly a little bit impatiently. "Now let's go. I'd like to be off Dromund Kaas sooner rather than later."

He didn't seem put out by her brusque treatment, at least, simply climbing into the taxi and waiting in his customary silence while she punched in their destination. The ride to the spaceport passed in a silence that was somehow both thick and yet... comfortable. She wanted to reach out, to catch up his hand, to hold his arm...

She held herself back; even the taxis had links to the holonetwork, and all it would take was one slip up for the Star Cabal to get their hands on that sort of incriminating data. If they did, they would know that her crew, and Vector in particular, could be considered a point of weakness. She'd already suffered _one_ attack from enemies they'd attempted to set on her. She wasn't going to give them the opportunity to do something worse.

It was almost a relief to see the spaceport; it was a greater one to reach her ship unmolested. A quick check showed that everyone, even Kaliyo, had returned, and in short order, they were lifting off, returning to the silence of the stars.

With no real destination in mind, Toni set them to drifting gently in the wake of Modiri's ship, then retreated to her room. She wanted— _needed—_ a bit of space and privacy to try and wrap her head around the excessive emotion. She even cycled her door closed to avoid having to talk to anyone; what could they say that she hadn't already figured out?

She stripped down to her undergarments, then sprawled on her bed, pulling in a pillow to her chest in lieu of the person she would have rather been holding. Who, she wondered, if any of them, would ever figure out that it had been fear before fury? The minute she'd realized that Vector wasn't with his com, it had opened a pit deep in her, and only reflexive training had kept her from freaking out there in the sewer.

She should never have sent him away. They should have gone together, but...

Toni rolled onto her side and half-hid her face against the pillowcase. Stars. Was this what the academy had meant when they'd warned about getting _too_ attached to someone? Having him anywhere else but nearby left her feeling anxious and alone, and when it wasn't _him_ at her back, it just didn't feel right.

She let out a slow breath, pushing back on the unwelcome, unnecessary tears that tried to flow. Vector was on her ship. He was safe, unharmed, and still wholly himself. Still the man she loved, Killik oddness and all.

Her door chimed gently, and she ignored it; she didn't want to talk to, or even see, anyone. When it cycled open anyways after a good five minutes, she half-sat up with a flush of irritation.

And stopped as Vector quietly stepped into the room, cycling the door closed behind him. He removed his boots in a surprisingly finicky manner, then came over and sat on the bed as she slowly sat up, pillow still hugged to her chest.

"We... I... thought you could use some company," he said quietly. "You are not yourself."

"I'm fine," she replied, though it lacked her former vehemence. "I'm just tired. It was a more eventful day than I was expecting."

"Toni..."

Her arms tightened on the pillow. In public, and sometimes still even in private, it was 'agent.' Agent was a safe label to hide affection behind, affection somehow only her crew and Modiri's could put into the word.

But her _name_. The name she had refused to give up in favor of the code name 'Cipher Nine.' The name that was the first gift her parents had given her, and the last thing she remembered both of them saying to her before she had left for the Academy. Before they had died.

She made herself breathe deeply again, pushing emotion away, pushing it down to deal with another day.

It might even have worked, had Vector not reached over and pulled her into a hug. The pillow remained between them, but she couldn't stop herself from pressing her forehead to his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding tight as little shivers raced along her spine.

She had been so damn _scared_. The idea that he would not be there was one that hadn't occurred to her before, not really. Letting him stay and rest on the ship was one thing, but him simply not being _there_...

Tears burned, and she gave up the fight to remain stoic. There were no listening devices in here, no cameras; her spare holocom was off, and buried in her closet for good measure, the earpiece somewhere in a drawer that she was going to have to dig around in later. There were no extraneous cameras, or things that could cause trouble.

For the first time in what felt like years, Toni had no reason to guard herself against her own emotions.

She tossed the pillow aside and curled into his lap as though she were a small child, hands wrapping tightly in the fabric of his jacket as she pressed her forehead against his neck and let the tears fall. Let herself be confused by the shuddering panic that had tried to sweep her sense away when she hadn't been able to find him in the sewer, when the Sith had delayed her, when Gault had found her and said they knew where he was.

Vector just held her. He stroked her hair, and murmured quiet reassurances. 'We are here' swiftly changed to 'I am here', and though it was jarring to hear the personal pronoun, it spoke to the part of her that _needed_ that reassurance.

Tears ran out eventually, and exhaustion dropped over her like a thick blanket. Her grip on Vector loosened, and she let her eyes close, simply listening to the steady pulse of his heartbeat.

"We did not mean to scare you," he said softly.

"It's not your fault," she replied, her voice cracking slightly. "I-"

He reached up, and smoothed his fingers across her cheek; the caress made her fall silent.

"We will not leave your side again," he said, his voice quiet and firm.

The words soothed her, warmed her. The warmth faded quickly as her mind flashed back to Alderaan.

"You don't... regret leaving the nest?" she asked hesitantly.

He shifted slightly, but when she moved to get off—surely his legs were numb at this point—he tightened the arm wrapped around her waist until she stilled again.

"The initial transfer was not expected, nor desire, but we have come to enjoy this new life. We find new reasons to enjoy each morning, and the people that have joined are unique to our perspectives. We would not change the path for any reason, and we will not— _I_ will not—leave you." Lightly, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "That is a promise, Toni."

She wanted to tell him not to make promises he couldn't be sure he'd keep, but she didn't have the energy or the desire to scold him for the sentiment. Right now, that sentiment was everything she needed, as was his presence.

No doubt sensing this, Vector simply scooted down on the bed until they were both laying down, her head pillow snugly against a drier spot on his shoulder. Then, the sneaky cheat, started running his fingers through her hair.

Already worn out from the crying and stress, Toni had absolutely no defenses against being lulled so perfectly to sleep.

* * *

Vector continued to trail his fingers through Toni's hair, even after her ragged breathing had evened out, and everything about her had quieted. It hadn't quite occurred to him until that point, but Toni was someone who _felt_ things with a clear intensity.

He could remember the subtle, simmering anger that had accompanied her throughout her time as a forced double agent working with Arden Kothe; at that time, he'd thought it was simply because she hadn't liked Kothe or Hunter. While it had been an accurate summation, leaning that she had been forced to do things with a controlling word had explained much more.

It had stung a surprising amount to know that Modiri had known, but he had not. Even following behind her, protecting her, he had not known of this code word, had not been able to ease her burden in the slightest. And she had done it to... protect him? Well, to protect all of them, as a good leader did—the hives multiple memories showed many situations like that, where a leader held the greatest burden and did what they could to shield others from it.

But how much _else_ was Toni sitting on, storing away, to protect them? What didn't she say?

He knew very little about her past, and that was... an unacceptable thing to realize. Who had her family been, before she had come to the Imperial services? What had drawn her there? While she had lightly explained how she'd come to work with Kaliyo, the time before Hutta, before meeting Modiri, it was all a large swath of the unknown.

And now, he wanted to know. _Needed_ to know in a way he thought was based in the strong affectionate ties they held. More than affection, maybe? They had properly kissed only once, and admittedly, Belsavis hadn't given him much time to focus on the part of his mind that remembered human affection, needs, and desires, but he thought—comparing the memories of Anora when he _had_ loved her, to the memories he now carried of Toni—that perhaps this was one of the things he needed to relearn faster.

Everyone needed someone. He had the hive, the Oroboro minds that could calm and quiet his agitation, his anger, but all other species lacked that connectivity. They were alone in their heads, with their thoughts, and could never truly see or feel as another person felt. But still they were drawn to one another, in inexplicable ways; Lokin, Temple, Kaliyo, and he himself circled Toni, drawn to her the way Jawa were drawn to broken machinery.

...perhaps that was not the most accurate description. She was damaged, perhaps, but nothing about her was broken. And they were all drawn to her for different reasons, carrying different expectations and hopes. Toni, in her way, managed to balance all of them, providing an ear, and sound advice. She might not entirely _trust_ all of them, but she would always hear them out.

Despite that, she had control to a fine art, and if not for his ability to feel things on a different spectrum, he might never have known just how she felt about this whole... adventure. Would she have cried alone, hugging the pillow, or would she have made herself sleep, and never addressed how she felt?

He smoothed his fingers along the curve of her cheek, wiping away what he could of the tears that were left; she murmured something unintelligible, her fingers briefly clenching, then releasing his coat. Something about it made him smile; maybe in the future he would be able to orchestrate more of these unguarded moments, see more of the little things that Toni hid from the world.

At the urging of others from the hive, he let the worries he carried drift, let him mind relax; he needed to be human for her, but he needed to be the Dawn Herald for himself.

He could only hope that he would find the right balance so that their unique relationship could continue unimpeded.

* * *

Toni woke slowly, and was almost immediately confronted with conflicting physical and emotional feelings; her head ached abominably from the crying she had indulged in, and the lingering aches of the fights with Sith reminded her that she was _not_ as uninjured as she'd tried to pretend.

But for all her body hurt, and she wanted to soak in a hot-spring until she couldn't stand it any longer, her heart felt... for a lack of better word, it felt _lighter_. She had been sitting for a long time on a morass of feelings, not able to bring them up with anyone for fear of shattering the image of who they needed her to be. Oh, there was Modiri, but her answers generally boiled down to 'blow something up to feel better' and that only worked part of the time.

She shifted a little, listening to Vector's steady heartbeat, feeling the warmth of his breath ruffling her hair lightly; on the one hand, she owed him an apology for falling apart like she had, but on the other, wasn't that what... couples were supposed to do? It was almost amusing to realize that while she'd certainly been attracted to a number of people—Senju, Aristocra Saganu—Vector was the first she could claim an actual relationship with.

Thinking of the aristocra gave her a small pang of guilt. She didn't have the time to contact him, discuss the gift he'd given her, or the implications in his message. And she was going to have to discuss what she felt a little more with Vector as well; while he didn't _seem_ the type to be jealous of her sharing affections, she had heard enough stories about relationships falling apart precisely because the primary pair didn't communicate properly.

But that was for the future. A future _after_ the Star Cabal was dealt with, and she didn't have to be so pervasively on-guard. Where she _could_ hold Vector's hand in public and not worry about the consequences as either an Imperial Agent, or someone who had enemies in high places.

She was damned well going to make that future happen too, if only for the chance to shoot Hunter in the face. He'd more than earned himself a blaster bolt.

But that was for later. Right now, she actually had time to breathe. No emergencies. No holocalls from either Intelligence or Modiri. It wouldn't last— _couldn't_ last. But until Vector woke up, she decided that she wasn't going to move. She was just going to let the moment linger until there was no other choice in the matter.

Because when, if ever, was she going to get another moment like this?


	8. Say hello

Say Hello

Hutta was a junkyard of a planet, run by the Hutts who managed to stay strictly neutral in galactic affairs. The Hutt Cartel had their slimy fingers in every underhanded dealing from Taris to Nar Shaddaa and even in places like Coruscant or Kaas city.

Nominally speaking, Toni didn't much _care_ about that sort of thing. If there was one thing taking training from the Imperial Academy had shown her, it was that people in general weren't worthy of much trust, and would often find their ways to game the system and steal what they couldn't earn. If she hadn't been top of her class, tapped to work directly in Intelligence after her graduation, being on this planet probably would never have come to her.

Granted, when she'd dreamed of being hired by Intelligence, she'd thought of grand schemes, rooting out Imperial problems, not... something like this. Skulking in the cantina, worrying about the oversight of a Sith Lord, while also trying to come up with a way to be useful to Kerrels. It was almost petty and mundane, and she felt vaguely insulted that _this_ was where she had to first turn her skills.

It annoyed her, but she had her orders. And she had agreed to follow those orders, no matter how much it bothered her; she had to show these Imperials that they could rely on their alien allies more than they did. That they _needed_ to rely on their allies, and recruit more aliens; the Empire wasn't going to survive the next potential war if they didn't take in more than humans, or those humans with cyborg enhancements.

At the least, she was getting to watch interesting people walk by. Oh sure, most of them had nothing to do with _her_ , but it was intriguing to watch a Twi'ilek run by, carrying a load of boxes, or see a Rodian surreptitiously passing over a packet to some strung out human. On Hutta, effectively nothing was illegal, and she couldn't help but indulge in thoughts of what they might be doing, and how it might help her.

Fa'thra's little attempt at a coup was going to cause her more problems than it might be worth, especially if she couldn't come up with a way to get Kerrels back into Nemro's good graces. But while she was a crack shot, she was also one person, and it would be far too easy to get herself fatally shot on this wreck of a planet.

"Y'know, most people try to _not_ look as put together as you do when they chill in a place like this. Being too pretty usually means people mistake you for other things."

Toni glanced up, meeting cool gray eyes as a Mirialan woman claimed a chair at her table, as casual as if they were old friends. While Toni could recall seeing her before, it was from a distance, and she had mentally dismissed the woman as another of Nem'ro's people. She had that sort of rough and ready look to her, as much likely to start a fight as to end one.

"Well, we can't all scare off rancor with our looks," Toni replied in her clipped, Republic-accented voice.

The insult was meant to sting; instead, the woman grinned, her scarred face pulling a bit oddly, but admittedly not unattractively. Toin blinked a little;

"Look, I'm not inclined to raise hell if you're screwing with the Hutt. I just got curious how you managed to fake your creds. I almost got told to bring you in as a bounty before my spotter caught it."

There were enough clues to provide context, and despite herself, Toni relaxed a little; this woman was trying to join the Great Hunt, some ridiculous Mandalorian thing that took place whenever their leader called for it. This wasn't some internal spymistress looking to out her... but she still had to be a bit careful; pursuing a sponsorship from Nem'ro was likely to have them working either at cross or in tandem.

Well, never let it be said that she couldn't take an opportunity and run with it.

"A... contact handled it," she admitted, still using the Republic voice, shrugging lightly. No point in letting anyone overhear an Imperial accent on her until she was quit of the place. "Apparently they didn't fake it as well as they thought."

Which was a bit of a problem, if some spotter from a bounty hunter team could crack through it. Was it worth the effort of telling Keeper, though? He'd already said she had enough freedom to handle in-field issues as she pleased. The _wise_ course of action would be to make this bounty hunter disappear...

On the other hand, she'd indicated a clear indifference towards what Toni might actually be up to. It might be good to have an ally instead.

"I'm Toni," she continued after a moment, offering a hand. "Though it's more practical to stick with 'Blade' here. And you are?"

"Modiri," and the Mirialan accepted the handshake, keeping it brief.

"Modiri... how interested are you in earning some credits on the side while you're working towards whatever sponsorship you need?"

"You have my attention."

Toni smiled a little.

"Kerrels has asked me to get back a shipment of ores that disappeared in the Evoccai lands. Now, I'm not a terrible shot, but there are a lot of guns out there, and only one of me. Help me out, and I'll cut you in. Say... twenty percent."

"Thirty and you have a deal."

Toni thought about trying to argue her down, then shrugged a little; while Keeper wouldn't reimburse her or anything, he still paid her wages, and she could afford thirty percent of whatever Kerrels might pay.

"Done."


	9. Sympathy

Sympathy

Mishori looked down at the body of the other Deshade as the lightnings flickered and died in her hands, then up at Khem Val. Adronikos believed that Khem could only scowl, but she had been working with the Deshade— _her_ Deshade—for weeks, and she was better able to read him now. He had thought this other one to be a friend, someone from his life that had managed to survive.

And now that friend, that former ally was dead because they had not been friends at all.

"...I'm sorry," she offered quietly.

What pain there had been in Khem's face fled with the advent of a scowl.

"Bad enough that I discover this, but do not subject me to your pity, little Sith," he growled.

Tired of Tatooine, overheated from use of lightning on an already hot planet, Mishori abruptly lost patience. She reached out and smacked Khem's arm; it wasn't a hard smack, but it was startling, as it was maybe the second time she'd actually hit him.

"It's called _sympathy_ , not pity, you ass," she snapped as he stared at her in surprise. "Don't go thinking you've got the market cornered on being betrayed, being _forced_ to kill someone you don't want to!"

"It is a Sith's pleasure to do this," he retorted in his blunt fashion.

" _I never wanted to be Sith!_ " Mishori cried, purple lightning dancing around her arms. "I didn't even want to be _Jedi_ , I just wanted to be left _alone! But no!_ The Jedi took me from Nar Shaddaa without a chance to say goodbye, and then the Sith took me from the Jedi and turned me into a child-slave! And then they threw me on Korriban, and now I'm working for a deranged Master, I have a Force Ghost who thinks he's my damned ancestor—A Cathar rising to ranks among the Sith? I'm lucky to be _alive_ , damnti—and I never asked for _any_ of this!"

Khem stared at her in mute surprise, and Mishori couldn't really blame him; cutting sarcasm was her usual tongue of choice, not brutal honesty. But she was tired of being on Tatooine, tired of being treated like the slave she had once been. If she'd had the credits, she would have bought herself a smaller ship, gone back to Nar Shaddaa, and already been looking for her missing sisters, not mucking about with whatever equipment Zash needed for a ritual that Mishori was _certain_ was going to kill her.

Because Khem was right; death was what Sith were.

Mishori turned away from the bodies, from him, mentally reciting a code that was neither Sith, nor Jedi; she had stumbled upon it when she had done the work of becoming a Revanite. It ordained that the Force was a thing, a tool, and it was the user who made of it what they willed. Neither Jedi nor Sith, Revan had ended up being something different at the end, and it was this difference that Mishori hoped to achieve as well.

She didn't _want_ to be a Sith. She didn't _want_ to be a Jedi. But she had this power, and damned if she wasn't going to use it to do what she could. Sometimes, the only thing she could do was defend herself. Sometimes, she _had_ to fight. And she knew that Khem regarded her refusal to properly utilize the power as a weakness, but she also found herself wondering if maybe he didn't respect her for it... just a little.

Slowly, the lightning faded, and the energy both within and without calmed. She was who and what she was, damnit, and whether it had been the Force, or just plain shitty luck, she had to work with the hand she was currently given. Sith, Jedi, somewhere in between, didn't matter. It was what it was, and she could only slightly modulate the outcome.

But damned if she wouldn't manipulate that to the best of her own limited abilities.

When she was calm again, she glanced back at Khem, who had waited with a surprising amount of patience.

"Is that it then?" she asked, voice steady again.

"Yes. If it pleases my master, we may leave and never speak of these ghosts again."

Mishori nodded, and pulled her hood up against the harsh suns of Taootine as they headed back out into the desert.


	10. Respect

Respect

She had fallen asleep outside of her room _again_.

Khem growled a little to himself as he studied his mistress, slumped over a table with datapads and pencil files scattered around her. She was definitely dead to the world asleep, and with everyone else keeping to themselves as they ever did, it was left to him, _again,_ to put her to bed.

It was tempting to let her stay there; she'd wake with a crick in her neck, and ache in her back, and it would serve her right. This foolish, little cathar, not even a proper Sith, didn't deserve the comfort of her bed if she wasn't going to seek it sensibly!

 _Oh, now isn't she cute and vulnerable,_ cooed the voice of Zash in his head. _Such a precious little child who has no idea what she's burying herself in._

Khem shook his head sharply and pushed back against the second soul in his body. His body belonged to _him_ , not the twisted Sith woman who had tried and failed to possess Mishori. It had been as much the bond of master and servant as self-preservation that had made him interfere there; he didn't even _slightly_ want to be at Zash's command. He had only gotten used to Mishori, and he had known from the moment he saw her that Zash would be a far _worse_ prospect.

With a faintly disgusted sound as his mind once more became his own, he stepped over to where Mishori was passed out, and picked her up with care; if she ever figured out that he did this, she'd _thank_ him, and start thinking he _liked_ her.

And maybe he did... just a little bit. But she didn't need to know _that_.

Khem deposited her on her bed, then threw a blanket over the top to avoid her getting chilled before he returned to his own lurking post inside the crew quarters, ruminating on that stray thought. It had been poking at him repeatedly for the past few weeks as he'd watched her grow in strength, and then rapidly begin to deteriorate; the Force Ghosts she'd bound were killing her body and shredding her mind...

And yet she wasn't giving up. She was suffering, but she was _silent_ about it. Soon, they would be at Belsavis, but whether that would help her or not, he couldn't say, but he hoped it could.

It was a tiny, quiet hope, carefully hoarded well away from the nosy second soul. That one had no need to know, and he didn't doubt that she would try and turn that knowing to her advantage. Bad enough he had to put up with sensing her _plotting..._

Silently, to himself, he could admit it; Mishori Tinu was _not_ Tulak Hord. Some days he couldn't even be sure she was properly a Sith lord; she was deferential, polite, even _kind_. She had a fallen Jedi for a student that she treated more like an equal, a pirate lover that seemed to _genuinely_ love her, the respect of that Hoth scholar, and then even her own former master who tried to control his body would admit to a grudging sort of fascination. It quietly frustrated him when she turned moments where she could have completely dominated with fear into diplomatic moments, even if the outcome was improved.

And yet...

He _could_ respect her, this fierce little mistress of his. Who tried to get everyone to call her Mishi instead of 'Lord', 'Sith', or even 'master'; who tried to listen to the grievances and issues of those who stayed on her ship. Who moved out of the way when confronted by a temper, but stood her ground when she knew she was right about something. Who _might_ be respectful, but also might come out with a sassy comment on impulse, regardless of who stood before her. A mistress who smiled and laughed much more than she brooded and scowled.

This mistress who used Force Lightning as an extension of her own self, almost never closing distance to clash with a lightsaber until she had no other options. Who treated him the same way he could remember being treated by Tulak Hord; with respect. More an ally than a servant. Who _worried_ about him and Zash fighting for control of his body far more than she worried about the fact that her own power, her own mind, was in danger of being split, or being irrevocably damaged.

The mistress who knew what it was to be a slave, and asked no more of him than what _she_ thought as reasonable. Who, after he had made his complaint at Tatooine when they had picked up the pirate, had made it a point to bring him along every single time she went out. Who now _smiled_ when he threatened that one day he would devour her, as if he was making a joke that only she understood. Who had flat out told him that she never wanted to be Sith or Jedi, leaving him to wonder who she might have been if she _had_.

She was his mistress, and he was coming to understand that if she died... he would miss her.

Mishori mumbled a little as she rolled over on the bed and half-sat up blearily, rubbing her face. The Force Ghosts now tied to her hadn't made her sleep even remotely restful, their memories, their lives melding into strange dreams that she couldn't even begin to pick apart and left her hating the path her life had taken even more now.

It didn't help that they'd all started yammering the minute she'd woken up; arguing amongst themselves, it seemed. At least she was getting better at turning it out.

Confusion left her mind muddled, however; she remembered putting her head down at the table for a moment, still poring over the files about possession in the hopes of finding something that would untangle Zash from Khem for good. Who had put her to bed? Andronikos or Ashara were both likely candidates, though she'd have expected Andronikos to lay down with her; he'd been doing that more often than not lately...

After a moment she shook her head and rubbed her hands across her face. She needed something to jumpstart her brain, something that would lessen the pain and make the day easier to handle. Some good news would be nice as well, but she wasn't going to hold out hope for that.

A blurry memory presented itself, but she immediately brushed it aside; for all she thought she understood Khem better now, she heavily doubted that _he_ would have put her to bed. Bond of master and servant aside, she heavily doubted that he cared _that_ much about her well-being.

Granted, she would accept that he cared at least a _little—_ even when he didn't like what she said, he backed up her words just by glaring—but putting her to bed? Unlikely.

Still, the thought made her smile a little. Maybe someday they would be friends.


	11. A really bad idea

A really bad idea

"Saganu? This is... a surprise."

Of all the people to contact her, she had expected it to be Modiri with another bounty. Going freelance, despite her own careful hoarding, wasn't exactly putting credits in her coffers, and Mo's jobs did that a lot better. In truth, there was something clean about hunting bounties at that, much more than there ever had been as working in Intelligence.

While she had received word that Saganu had recovered—Raina herself had passed the news along that he had returned to his duties—he himself had never contacted her. Then again, she hadn't exactly had the free time to wonder much about him. It had been enough to know that he was alive and able to work.

His smile was as warm as she remembered, and Toni couldn't quite keep herself from smiling back. It wasn't fair that he was so handsome...

"Yes, I apologize for the amount of time it has taken for me to find a free moment to reach out," he said. "I tried to write a handful of times, but something always pulled me away, and then..."

"And then you came back to prose that wasn't quite as stellar as you first thought?" she teased gently.

He laughed a little sheepishly, and nodded. Admittedly, it was better than her; she hadn't felt it safe to try and contact him while juggling everything else that wanted to fall on her head. This was the first chance she'd had to breathe since her last visit with the former Minister of Intelligence, and admittedly, she'd wanted to spend time resting, maybe return to Voss briefly to see Phi-Ton, the teahouse...

She gave herself a mental shake, and raised an eyebrow playfully.

"So, is this a pleasure call, or a business one?"

"A little bit of both, I'm afraid." He did seem regretful, and Toni sat up a little straighter on her bed, flirtatious mood sliding away. "I wanted to contact you, and Ensign Temple was kind enough to enable it, but there are some... irregularities on Hoth that have come to light in the wake of some recent confusion."

"Irregularities?" she prompted, pulling a datapad within reach to take notes.

"Shipments seem to have gone missing with more regularity, and some have turned up in the hands of those damn pirates again," he frowned a little, all business now, and she nodded. "There's been odd bursts of comm chatter as well, coming from their encampments, and terminating on both Republic and Imperial stations. Some are from off-world as well, making them even more difficult to trace."

Toni frowned a little herself; with the Black Codex shattered, she couldn't say if it was the Cabal attempting to repair itself, or just pirates making underhanded deals. She almost regretted having to break it, but damned if she was going to let some power-mad _Sith_ walk in there and try to take any of that data. And the Cabal itself had proven to be faulty, fueling a war instead of taming it; the galaxy needed time to heal, and had figure out how to do that on its own.

"I have some very good people working for me, but I could use the ensign, and your own skills would come in handy as well. Your Mirialan friend too, if she's amenable."

Toni smiled a little.

"She'll want to negotiate a fee, but I expect you'll be able to handle that," she said wryly. "I'll contact her, and then comm you when we're over Hoth with more information."

"I look forward to seeing you again, my Red Flame."

His smile had gone soft and warm again, and hers did too. Despite everything, despite knowing she shouldn't, his expression brushed against an empty spot in her and soothed her.

"I look forward to seeing you as well. There is... quite a bit to talk about."

"I hope we'll have the time to do so. I will await your call."

He saluted her, and the connection closed; Toni stretched out on her bed briefly, then swung her legs over the side as she tapped in Modiri's frequency.

"Yeah?"

The Mirialan bounty hunter was never one to keep her waiting, at least.

"Aristocre Saganu contacted me; it seems he has a job he'd like us to handle."

"Oh really? Is that _all_ he wants to have handled?~"

"I don't know _what_ you're implying," Toni said with tolerant humor. "If you'll be serious for a moment, I have the feeling that we might run into some fallout from the damage we did to the Star Cabal."

That made Modiri scowl; the bounty hunter had taken it personal when she'd heard Hunter's 'ideals' for the future. It was one of the rare topics absolutely guaranteed to actually set her off on a rant, so Toni avoided it. Not that it was much of a chore; she didn't want to even _think_ about Hunter most days, let alone talk about that nonsense.

"You want another gun to take around, then?"

"Pretty much, if you'd like to come. He's implied he'll be able to pay, which will be good for the both of us. State of the art starships are expensive to maintain."

Modiri shrugged.

"I wouldn't know; mine's a pile of junk."

"Yes, which means it takes _more_ credits," Toni teased.

"Hey, I got it free. And the mechanical work doesn't cost a credit."

"Well, not _all_ of us have Jawa running around their engine room."

"Your loss." And Modiri grinned.

"I think I'll survive," Toni replied dryly. "How often has Blizz blown something up again?"

"Not as much as you'd expect. I'll let Gault know he's gonna have to stick around Hylo for a while on his own unless he wants to make his own way to Hoth."

"Do you think he will?"

Modiri snorted a little, and half-shrugged.

"Hell if I know. Meet you on the orbital station in a few hours?"

"All right. See you there."

She turned off the holocom, stretched again, then turned to grab her new coat as she made a mental tally of who might be useful on Hoth.

She had left SCORPIO on Nar Shaddaa after some delicate negotiations—which might have ended in threatening to dismantle the droid again if not for Vector playing mediator, as he did so well—and Kaliyo had jumped ship a couple weeks back too, stating personal business on Hutta. Again. At least this time she hadn't asked for backup; while their relationship was amenable, Toni still didn't fully trust her to _not_ cause trouble. With Gault safely occupied with his girlfriend, and Skadge off possibly killing Hutts on Tatooine—Modiri hadn't asked, and Toni was glad to see the back of him—it would be a fairly calm trip.

Vector would come, of course; her 'husbug' as she'd taken to affectionately calling him, had made it perfectly clear that he was not to be left behind when she went into danger. The aristocre had requested Raina specifically, so she would come too. That left Lokin to watch the ship, which he was quite capable of doing; knowing him, he was embroiled in some form of personal science experiment. After taking control of Project Protean, he'd been in more of those, and while it was a bit fascinating, it could also be... disconcerting.

But she had a question to ask of Vector first.

She found him easily enough in the cargo hold; even with SCORPIO and Kaliyo gone, he seemed to find it more comfortable to work there, instead of in their shared quarters, or the crew ones. Since it seemed to make him happy, and since he made it a point to both start and end the days with helping her with her hair—his idea in the first place, actually—she saw no reason to question it.

He glanced up when she stepped in, and smiled a little; it was a slightly distracted smile, and she waited patiently as he finished communicating with the Oroboro nest, all those systems away on Alderaan. She had gotten used to this, and while he was loyal and loving, he had duties to his nest that she wouldn't interfere with.

"Is there something we can do for you, Toni?"

"I... have a question for you, actually."

He straightened a little, giving her his full attention as she flicked through a dozen different ways to try and word it without offering potential insult. After a few moment, she shrugged lightly, and just went for the truth.

"Aristocre Saganu contacted me; he has a job for us, but he also indicated that he would like to possibly spend some time together in a non-professional setting. I find... that I still am attracted to him, and I wanted to make sure that sort of thing wouldn't bother you."

Vector was quiet for a moment, his expression having shifted towards puzzled.

"We wish for your happiness," he said slowly.

"Yes, I understand that, but humans do tend to get... wedded to their particular ideas of matrimony," she pointed out carefully. "I don't want to hurt you..."

"You have been married twice," he said with a small smile. "Are you looking for a third?"

"It's not like I do it on purpose," she replied, trying to not sound defensive. He was only teasing and she knew it, but...

He moved closer, and lightly touched the scar that curved over her cheek a remnant of the torture she'd suffered to break the Star Cabal. It calmed her, as his touch often did, and she turned her head slightly to snuggle into his palm.

"We are not bothered by the thought of you spending time in whatever way you choose with Saganu," he said after a moment. "Whatever relationship comes, it comes because it is something you need, and we choose to be attentive to those needs. It would be unreasonable to expect that we could fulfill everything."

"Don't neglect your own," she murmured, and it was her turn to reach up and trail the tips of her fingers over his cheek, smoothing his dark hair out of his face. "I don't want you to get hurt, Vector."

"We were not hurt when you chose to marry Phi-Ton."

"That isn't the same, and you know it."

Marrying Phi-Ton had been more... a cover of convenience than anything else. It shouldn't have been hard to leave him, and that cover story behind, but Voss had been the first planet where she hadn't felt... stressed. She had finally been able to address the myriad issues that had been plaguing her mind, to ears that did not judge her for what she'd hoped and how her hopes had broken.

And Phi-Ton, though he knew nothing of her status as an agent, had chosen to accept her; whether infatuation for an outsider, or genuine desire, she was Voss by marriage, and that family was a warm memory. Part of her wished she had asked a Mystic to annul the marriage before she left; Phi-Ton should have a wife who was there at the teahouse with him, not... roaming the stars. The two missives he'd sent made her heart hurt to think about.

"Perhaps after, a visit should be arranged for Voss," Vector said. "You have as much to say to Phi-Ton as you do to Aristocre Saganu."

" _Now_ you're changing the subject," she said a little sourly.

He inclined his head slightly, a small smile on his lips.

"Toni, we are not human," he reminded her gently. "A nest is made up of many, and we see no harm coming to you from maintaining extra relations beyond the one with us—me. That you care for others has never been secret; we understand that you wish to put us first, but truly, there is no cause for concern."

"...and you'll tell me if that changes?"

"Yes," he nodded. "I will."

The change from impersonal to personal was what relaxed her the most, and she leaned her head briefly on his chest, listening to the sound of his heart as he loosely wrapped his arms around her in a hug. He would, she knew, be as good as his word. It wasn't in Vector to lie, not even to spare her own feelings.

She silently savored the feel of her strange, loving husband, then stepped back.

"Better prepare your fur-lined clothes," she said.

"We remember how cold Hoth was," he smiled wryly. "We will be ready."

* * *

Hoth was just as cold as she remembered, and Toni pulled up her collar slightly as she stepped out of the shuttle, followed by Temple, Vector, Mo, Blizz, and Torian. Of all of them, Torian muttered something that sounded like a dark complaint, and she tried not to smile at his discomfort. It wasn't pleasant, but Hoth wasn't too dissimilar from her own homeworld.

Which was, as a matter of fact, probably why there were so many of her people here. They could handle the cold with fewer limitations than the humans or cyborgs of the Empire.

"So, where are we heading?" Mo asked, giving her boyfriend a briefly sympathetic look.

"We'll drop the ensign off with Saganu, and see what new intel he has, and then I believe he wanted us to go and harass some pirates," Toni said with a wry smile. "Missing shipments are more our field than odd communications."

"Any chance they've gotten speeders that are covered?" Torian asked.

"What do _you_ think?" Temple replied impishly. "It's not _that_ cold, you know. Look, the suns are shining~"

Torian's glare could have peeled paint. Toni held back a laugh as they filed over to the speeders; the automated vehicles would get them to the base nearest the secret Chiss outpost, but they were going to have to travel the rest of the way on foot. Or Tauntaun, if they could get their hands on a few.

"We think, perhaps, the ensign is too used to the weather to notice," Vector said dryly.

"Station here long enough, and you'll adjust too," was the cheerful reply.

Toni hid a grin as Modiri snickered. At least one of them seemed to be having fun.

* * *

Other than the addition of a small scar on his face, Aristocre Saganu looked much like he had when they'd met little under a year prior; fit, strong, and ready to run headlong into danger if it kept his people safe. It had been good to see this via the holocom, but it was more comforting to see the truth in person. He nodded to each of them, pausing before Toni; as his eyes trailed across her new scars, she gave a faint half-smiled of resignation. Those were going to be interesting to explain.

"Sir," Temple saluted briskly. "Ensign Raina Temple reporting for temporary duty!"

"It's good to have you back, ensign, even if only temporarily," he said solemnly, nodding at her. "We've got a terminal set up for you over there. Familiarize yourself with it and its contents if you please. Look for any new patterns that we might have missed."

The ensign saluted again, and marched off, plainly happy to be back in an environment that she was still familiar with. Toni stifled a small pang of guilt, wondered briefly if she ought to let Temple stay put, then pushed the thought away as Saganu waved for them to follow him to another room.

A holomap occupied most of one table, a close-up view of the White Maw's base of operations, and they gathered around it. Toni leaned back slightly as Vector moved up closer to her; he was probably as cold as Torian, he just complained less about it, and she was not adverse to cuddling to share heat.

"We've tracked most of our missing shipments here," Saganu said without preamble, gesturing to the open map. "Some they've taken deeper into their base, but other pieces are still being sorted out in the open. Everyone's agreed it's probably a trap, but we're not sure if they're trying to lure us, or just anyone foolish enough to go charging in."

"...I walk into traps on purpose all the time and my rates are pretty reasonable," Modiri said with a shrug.

Toni snorted a little; it was impossible to argue with that, really, mostly because it was completely true. Even before they'd left Hutta, walking into obvious traps had been sort of par for course.

"Remember that one back on Hutta that Nem'ro tried to set?" she asked a little archly. "For a race known to be criminal masterminds, Hutts are surprisingly unimaginative."

"The one where I said he was up to something the minute I walked out of the throne room?" Modiri replied dryly.

"You said that every time you walked out of the throne room."

"I also wasn't surprised when the beastmaster set his pets on us."

Now Toni snorted.

"I still think that was the Twi'ilek's idea. It's certainly his style of crude and unimaginative."

"I dunno, I think Nem'ro thought he was being clever."

Toni rolled her eyes slightly in tolerant humor.

"Hutts always think they're being clever, especially when they're not."

"He was dumber than most," Modiri said with a shrug.

Saganu coughed a little, and seemed to be fighting a smile when Toni glanced over. She offered a slight, apologetic shrug, and gestured for him to continue.

"A few weeks ago, we caught word of the Republic having created a prototype weapons nullification device, that could be used against starships," he continued. "The craft carrying the prototype was shot down in the starship graveyard, and we believe that the White Maw have discovered it. Whether they have dismantled it to bring back to their hideout, or are assembling parts to make more, we're not certain yet."

"Bad enough if the Republic has a weapon to disable starships, but pirates?" Toni frowned a little. "I don't like that idea in the slightest."

"It's always bad times when the White Maw gets their mitts on something shiny... this just screams bad news," Modiri said, crossing her arms with a faint scowl.

"Agreed," Saganu nodded slightly. "They look to have bundled together to most weather-vulnerable components here, in this cavern," and he pointed to one of the cave openings, enlarging it on the map. "There's a secondary exit at the back that we discovered, but getting in is going to be difficult."

"We excel at the difficult, Saganu, remember?~" Toni asked with a teasing smile.

He half-smiled in reply, and nodded again.

"I do. Which is why I have faith that you'll be able to follow the thread of a plan we've managed to come up with. We'd like you to infiltrate the cave, seal the back exit, and then use a series of grenades at marked vulnerable points," and the cave layout came clear after a moment, with a number of spots marked for detonation, "to collapse the cave on top of the supplies."

"Sounds... a little mad," Toni said after a thoughtful moment. "Modiri?"

Modiri shrugged after a moment.

"It's not that much crazier than some of the other stuff we've done," she said, giving Toni a pointed look.

Toni rolled her eyes tolerantly; she couldn't argue the point, and saw no need to really try. Between the two of them, they had certainly cornered the market on surviving the impossible.

"Then let's get the needed explosives and get started," Toni said briskly.

"Sooner we blow up a cave, sooner we get back to somewhere warm," Torian grunted a little.

"We have tauntauns prepared for you, with the grenades tucked into the bags," Saganu replied, "I... would recommend taking your Jawa friend, to help wire them."

"And also to keep him from trying to rewire everything in sight?" Toni grinned a little.

"Not Blizz's fault wires spark!" the Jawa replied, sounding almost put upon, even as he quickly dropped a few wires.

Modiri just sighed and shook her head a little as Toni stifled a giggle.

"We'll certainly take him with us; no doubt you can put a larger boom into what we're given?~" Toni asked, raising an eyebrow at the Jawa.

Blizz nodded quickly and eagerly.

"We are almost worried about how large of an explosion that could create," Vector said after a moment.

"Only almost?" Modiri asked dryly.

"It will be something to see... from a fair distance."

Toni gave up on trying to control her giggles.

* * *

One of the somewhat good things about Hoth's slower spin was that it made days longer; their late start didn't matter so much, not with the tauntauns to get them moving at a fast clip.

"Didn't get much time to talk, didja?" Modiri called as they crossed the boundlessly white plains, working to keep Blizz balanced as he craned his head around to try and pick out interesting pieces of machines from the scenery.

"Business first," Toni retorted, shooting her friend a wry look. "I thought you wanted to get paid?"

"Credits are nice, I'll admit~"

"Wouldn't it bore you to watch, at that?" Toni inquired. Then smirked a little. "Plus, leaving poor Torian out in the cold, it's just so rude."

"I think he got too used to the temperature on Taris~"

Toni glanced over her shoulder; Torian was giving them both sour looks, but seemed disinclined to provide them with any fuel for further teasing. She grinned at him, and earned herself a rude gesture in response, which just made her laugh.

Funny to realize that she hadn't felt this carefree since she was an actual child...

As the reached the summit that overlooked the pirate hideout, Toni reined in her tauntaun, and pulled out a pair of macrobinoculars to check the layout of the pirates; with the height, the range, and the fact that all of them were wearing white-on-white fur-lined clothing to help handled Hoth's cold, all she had to worry about was a potential reflection of light from the sun.

"They're certainly out en masse," she murmured, frowning a little. "There's more in the yards than were here last time. We may need a diversion to get through unscathed."

"Mm... couple hundred tons of snow on their heads?" Modiri offered after a minute.

"That would certainly get their attention, but if it buries our way in, it kind of defeats the purpose," Toni replied dryly.

"You underestimate my ability to control collateral damage."

"From what I've seen, you don't have that ability," Toni retorted, lowering the binocs.

"Just because I generally don't bother doesn't mean I can't."

Toni gave her friend a skeptical sidelong look.

"Avalanches aren't exactly something that can _be_ controlled," she pointed out. "Once it's set off, it's going to roll over anything and everything in the way until it stops."

The Mirialan bounty hunter blinked, then frowned a little, and Toni shook her head slightly; she had grown up in such conditions, but Modiri was from Coruscant. Avalanches were interesting in theory, but hard to survive, and only strong Force-users had ever managed to turn one.

Even then, the power of an avalanche could be overwhelming. Combine it with the fact that they'd be throwing tons of snow onto volcanic faults, _well_.

Still, the other option was trying to sneak past the pirates, and if the White Maw _hadn't_ learned from the last time their base had been infiltrated, she would eat her hat. Plus, Modiri was not the sneaking type.

After a moment, she brought the binocs back to her face, scanning the area behind the pirates.

"The other problem with that plan is that the mountains are too far away."

"So, shooting in it is?" Mo asked with a smirk.

Toni sighed a little, and half-shrugged.

"You _could_ try to be stealthy for once..."

"...Nah."

Toni sighed again, and shook her head. Vector's comforting touch on her shoulder made her smile briefly at him, then she raised the binocs to her face again, trying to plot a proper path. They might have had to get _shot_ , but that didn't mean they had to be _injured_.

"Given your penchant for mass destruction, we'll probably attract more than a few of them, no matter if we're quiet or not. We need a choke point..." She paused, the pulled the binocs away and glanced at Blizz. "Blizz, you're good at getting into places you're not supposed to. If we occupy the pirates, do you think you could sneak ahead and start planting some of the ground-level charges?"

The Jawa nodded, and seemed pleased to be given the job.

"All right then. Ah, Vector-"

"No."

She glanced over at him, ignoring Modiri's snickering, then decided it wasn't worth the effort to press the question; Vector rarely got stubborn or interrupted, but even before their impersonal marriage, he had been very protective of her. He never _smothered_ , but he also made it a point to remain at her side, no matter who else tagged along. He'd just gotten more _stubborn_ about it after recent events, and giving ground was more sensible than arguing.

"Torian, then. Go with Blizz and make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble," she instructed.

"Got it," Torian said with a nod, glancing only briefly in Modiri's direction.

"All right. I think I see a good holding point, not too far from the cave we need to get into. Let's get moving."

* * *

"Alpha to base; Delta and Bravo are in position."

"Good. Begin operation."

* * *

Toni tapped her earpiece lightly as the group dismounted their tauntauns at a safe distance from their chosen hold-point.

"Temple, how are things going?"

" _It's all going fairly well here, sir. These strange shipments aside, I've caught some odd readings coming from one of the moons. Almost like it's a station, but..._ "

"I doubt the Republic is _that_ mad, but some Sith might be," she murmured, frowning a little. "Let the aristocre know we're well, and about to engage with the pirates."

" _Roger that, sir. Mako and Dr. Lokin just checked in too, everything's quiet._ "

"Good. I'll pass the word along. Give us about four hours; we have idiots to clear out, and a lot of wiring to do."

" _Got it. Be safe, sir._ "

"As we can be," Toni said with a small smile.

Torian and Blizz were already moving—Blizz with one of the bags of explosives slung over one small shoulder—sticking close to the walls as they traced a path that would take them into the cavern beyond in relative safety. Toni caught up with Modiri, who was already taking aim at a group of pirates that were looking around alertly.

"Everything's clear back at base and on the ships," she reported, unslinging her rifle and flicking the safety off. "Temple thinks someone's setting up base on one of the moons."

"Why the hell would someone set up on a moon? Isn't it cold enough down here?" Modiri asked, giving her friend a skeptical look.

Toni just shrugged.

"I've stopped asking when it comes to humans. They tend to have the strangest notions."

Modiri snorted a little in agreement, and squeezed the triggers of her blasters, sending plasma splashing across armor plating. Toni followed suit, bracing her rifle against a properly-sized outcropping, then glanced over her shoulder at Vector; in one hand he held a grenade, ready to prime and throw, and in the other, his vibrostaff. She really needed to find the time to teach him to shoot a gun at some point...

And then the air was thick with sizzling blaster fire, as the pirates realized they were under attack and called for backup. Toni lost count of the number of times she put a bolt through someone's face, chest, or other extremities, not to mention the explosions that both Modiri and Vector were part of.

Where did Modiri even _get_ her stock of missiles?

* * *

With the girls causing trouble outside, it was almost laughably easy to slip past the exterior guards on the cave; most of them were heading for the noise, and the few that weren't were at least looking in that direction. Torian smiled a little at it; Modiri's ability to cause chaos was really only tempered by Toni's ability to plan.

Good thing they worked well together.

The cave system was one they'd infiltrated before; at the time the backdoor had looked to be frozen, and useless, so none of them had paid it much mind. They'd all had bigger things to worry about. Like the pirates themselves, actually, which wasn't too different from now. While the girls were causing chaos, and attracting attention, not _all_ of the pirates were responding to it. Especially since the farther into the cavern they were, the less they heard from the outside; holocom, even audio, was spotty under all this ice and snow.

Blizz was small, and prone to going undetected unless he wanted attention, but Torian wasn't the same sort of stealthy. What he _was_ , however, was a lifelong Mandalorian, and it didn't matter that they were armed with blasters while he carried a vibrostaff. They might score a glancing hit every now and again, but nothing worrying, and nothing even remotely approaching fatal.

And hey, if nothing else, fighting kept him warm.

* * *

Toni peered cautiously over her outcropping, which had shrunk by several inches thanks to the heat from blaster fire. Good thing she was already relatively short...

Bodies littered the grounds below, and what pirates were left seemed to be in full retreat. And it had only taken—she checked her chronometer, then frowned a little—an hour.

"Running like mice," Modiri said in satisfaction as she holstered her blasters. "About damn time."

"You would think they'd have remembered us from the _last_ time we were on Hoth," Toni replied, shaking her head a little. "Or at least _you._ How many pirates did we wade through last time? How did they replenish their numbers so quickly?"

"They're pirates," Mo shrugged a little. "Does it really matter?"

"I suppose not," and Toni sighed a little, then straightened from her crouch with a slight wince for the ache in her legs. "We should probably catch up with Torian and Blizz, though. Just because the fools out here have decided to run doesn't mean the ones in there will get the memo."

Modiri scoffed a little, but her gray eyes flicked towards the entrance to the cave anyways. Toni hid her smile; Mo was not as demonstrative, but it wasn't hard to know that she loved her ragtag crew as much as Toni loved hers. Everyone could take care of themselves, but that didn't mean the worry was less.

"Let's get in there and see how they've fared."

* * *

The answer was 'not terribly.' True, Torian had not rooted out _all_ of the pirates, but there was a nice trail of bodies and destruction to follow that led to where the Mandalorian had decided to take a short break. Between the four of them—Blizz was already working on wiring the half of the cave they'd cleared—it didn't take long to finish clearing out the enemies.

The back door was as solid as advertised, but it moved easily enough when Vector tested it. Toni stared at it thoughtfully, head tipped slightly to one side.

"...oh what?" Modiri asked after a minute.

"It's a pretty thick door."

"Yeah, and?"

"Probably thick enough to not break with all the rock and snow we'll drop on it."

Torian made a faint sound that could be classified as a groan even as he patched up a blaster burn. Toni ignored him, still studying the door.

"You're beating around the bush, quit it," Modiri said, reaching over and giving her Chiss friend a poke in the shoulder. "What's your crazy idea?"

"We-ell..." After a moment, Toni shrugged slightly. "We're supposed to seal the doors, and then backtrack to set off the charges, but what if we went through the door, blew up the cave, and then sealed it? We'd probably have to fight a bunch of pirates on the way out, but it might be slightly saner than wiring the whole cave back to front, and trusting that all of them stay inert until we're out."

"...It's a stupid plan, but I haven't heard any better. Let's do it."

"We are not certain it is a sound plan..." Vector said cautiously.

Torian was blunter.

"You have been hanging around Mo _way_ too long," he said, giving Toni a narrow-eyed stare.

"I'm just trying to be expeditious," Toni replied primly. "Besides, the fewer pirates left on this planet, the better."

He muttered something else that she elected to ignore; Modiri didn't. Instead she snickered a little, then bent and scooped up enough snow to form a rough ball and lobbed it right at his head. Torian's squawk had Toni stifle a laugh, and his retaliatory snowball hit Mo square in the shoulder.

"Oh, that's how you wanna play it?" she asked with a smirk.

"Bring it on," he retorted, hopping to his feet.

Toni just shook her head, and decided that maybe taking cover for the next couple of minutes might just be a better option.

* * *

Raina Temple was glad to be back in her element, so to speak. Much as she enjoyed her berth on Toni's ship, she had actually missed the cold air of Hoth, and the various shades of blue and lavender that were Chiss skintones. She was certainly never _bored_ , but sometimes she rather wished she could be.

Still, working with her old fellows was a bit like wearing and old sweater; it was nice in a broken-in sort of way, but at the same time, she could sense that she didn't quite fit the place any longer.

"Well, there's definitely _something_ going on up on the second moon," she said, tapping the screen lightly. "Whether it's a base, or just someone building a small waystation, either way, it probably shouldn't be there. It's really well-hidden, though... if we want to find out how to get in, I'm going to need to have someone use a couple of the drones and hope that there's no defense systems..."

"Do it," Saganu said with a sharp nod. "If there's a base up there, we need to know what it's for, and who's running it. Since it seems someone's trying to keep it secret, we'll have to go in with as much stealth as we can... We're certainly not equipped for spacewalks down here, cold as it is."

She smiled a little and nodded; the aristocre was as formal as ever, even a little fidgety, though it would take someone who'd worked with him close to recognize that. Business always came before pleasure, however, and she could only hope that Saganu would get the moments he wanted with Toni before something _else_ happened.

That was always the life with the agent, after all. Or... ex-agent? Free agent, maybe. Toni was committed to knowledge, but not necessarily the Empire. Which was a bit disconcerting, but at the same time, Raina couldn't blame her any. Not after finally hearing the whole story behind all the events that had pushed Toni to this point.

After a moment of thought, she glanced idly at the chronometer, then blinked and stared at it. While Toni and her team weren't late with checking in—not yet, they had at least another hour to go, and Raina was pretty sure that they'd _feel_ the explosion—both Mako and Lokin ought to have pinged her by now. It was half-past the hour, and they were both too meticulous and exacting to miss the check in for no reason.

It made her nervous in a way that she recognized. While not a trained Force user, she knew when it was the Force hinting that something wasn't quite right. And something was _definitely_ not right here.

"Aristocre? Excuse me, Aristocre Saganu, we need you-"

He nodded and moved away from Raina's station before she could say anything; she blinked in surprise, then shook her head and pinged Mako's frequency.

Silence.

A little more anxious now, she pinged Lokin.

"...oh that's not good," she murmured, chewing her lower lip nervously when her calls were met by nothing but dead air. "Not good at all..."

One not answering could be for a myriad of reasons; using the 'fresher, for example, or in the mess hall with their hands occupied. But both? At the same time?

She hesitated only a moment more before getting to her feet; they didn't need her to run digital sweeps on the second moon, they just needed someone with the programming skills to divert two of the myriad world probes in orbit. If she was just being paranoid, well, she'd rather be accused of that than of not caring at all that her friends weren't answering their coms.

Mind made up, Raina headed for the aristocre, who was now frowning over a datapad one of the junior officers had handed him. He glanced at her, then raised an eyebrow inquiringly.

"Sir, neither Mako nor Dr. Lokin are responding to calls," she said, trying not to let her anxiety show. "I'd like to go check on them personally, make sure nothing's gone wrong."

A technical fault, maybe? No, Mako was a tech genius, if something was wrong, she'd have found an alternate way to send a message.

"Do you think you should go alone?" Saganu asked, his brow creasing slightly.

"I'd rather go now, just in case it's not really anything to worry about," she replied with a sheepish smile. "I don't want to bother Toni..."

Or Modiri, really. Modiri was still a bit on the scary side, and if she called them back from their job for something that wasn't really worth it, she was fairly sure she'd catch the sarcastic edge of the Mirialan's tongue. Not something she really wanted to experience.

Saganu frowned a little, but nodded after a moment.

"If there is trouble, keep your head down and call," he said sternly. "I doubt any of us would hear the end of it from either of them if you were hurt."

Raina grinned a little in relief, and saluted smartly, then turned and headed out of the base. It wasn't a far walk to the Imperial station and a speeder that would get her quickly back to Dorn.

* * *

"The bird has left the building. Collect her."

* * *

Toni would have stayed uninvolved in the snow war if not for Torian's missed shot. Vector, having also elected to stay out of it, had been helping Blizz wire the cave right up until the snowball Torian had aimed at Modiri had been dodged and smacked Vector square in the head, nearly knocking him into the pillar he'd been working on.

"...aw shit..."

Vector had remained uninvolved. Toni? Had sided with Modiri in throwing snow at Torian. Which had amused the hell out of Modiri, really; all was fair in a fight, even one with no real injuries. Plus, it was _fun_ to see everyone relax enough to act like idiots; though they were done with being the Most Wanted, and the Star Cabal nonsense was behind them, they hadn't really had the _chance_ to relax.

So when Toni stopped and put a hand to her ear, Modiri didn't really think much about it; she just whipped another ball of icy whiteness at Torian's current shelter with a smirk. It splattered across the snow already in place, and he fired one of his own in return, though both of them paused when Toni spoke.

"I can't hear you Raina... the signal's patchy in here, hold on."

Toni started to move towards the front of the cavern, carefully stepping around Blizz's wires; Modiri shrugged after a minute and pegged Torian in the face with snow, making him yelp.

"You ever gonna give up?" she teased.

"Not on your life," Torian retorted with a mock-fierce growl.

Her smirk widened into a grin, but before she could gather up more snow, Toni's smooth voice rose.

"Ensign? _Ensign?_ Raina, can you hear me?"

The overt concern was nothing new, but Toni didn't raise her voice for no reason. Both Mandalorian shared a look, then dropped the snow in favor of finding out just what was going on.

"The signal dropped," Toni said without preamble when the joined her; she hadn't even made it halfway out of the cave. "But I am willing to swear I hear something that sounded like an explosion from her end."

"What was she saying before?" Modiri asked, playfulness put aside in favor of business.

"I couldn't really make it out. The signal in here is horrible," Toni said, frowning. "I caught something about going back to the ship, Lokin's name, and then she yelped and the com cut."

"All right. What do you wanna do?"

"We can't _all_ go," Toni replied, absently nibbling at the edge of her glove. "Someone needs to guard the back in case the pirates decide they want to see what's going on up here, and to keep Blizz safe. I'll take Vector, and we'll head for the Chiss base. If she's not on that path, we'll head for Dorn base."

Modiri nodded.

"Don't do anything stupid," Torian said after a moment.

"...I'm leaving the two of you _here_ ," Toni said pointedly.

Vector made a faint sound that was almost laughter while Torian just huffed. Modiri snickered; he had set himself up for that one, and she didn't mind the odd joke at her own expense.

"It might be prudent to return to the original plan, though, with just the three of you," Toni continued, a tiny smile on her face. "Seal the door, finish wiring the cave, and then get out before everything blows."

"Ah, we can handle the pirates," Modiri scoffed slightly.

"Yes, I know you can," Toni said patiently, "when you're fully armed. How many power cells did you say you had left?"

"...enough."

Toni rolled her eyes.

"Mo _di_ ri..."

"Look, we'll handle it, you just go check on Temple," Modiri said, giving her friend a light shove.

"Yeah. Way to cold to be lying around," Torian added when Toni looked uncertain.

"Mn. Fine. No unnecessary risk though. If it's patchy in here, coms will be worse deeper in."

"Yeah, yeah, g'wan," Modiri made shooing motions at the Chiss woman. "We got this!"

"Not particularly comforting..."

It was Torian's turn to snicker as Modiri gave her friend a less gentle shove. Toni shook her head, but allowed herself to be herded, and Vector fell in behind as she headed for the exit. Modiri nodded a little in satisfaction, then picked up the welding torch Toni had left behind.

"Torian, give me a hand with this. No point in making her whine at us later."

He snorted a little, but obediently came and picked up the spare tanks and helped her cart the whole mess to the back of the cave. The sooner they got things done, the sooner they could blow the place and get back to somewhere that had a _sensible_ temperature.

* * *

"Objectives four and five are en route. Tauntauns."

"Herd them along the cliff path if they don't go that way on their own. Don't get caught in the aftermath."

"Affirmative."

* * *

He watched her back, her shoulders, noticing the tension that kept them stiff under the insulating clothing. Something more than just Raina's aborted call was bothering her; it was clear in the way she lifted her head a little, the hand that pushed back her hood slightly despite the chill of Hoth's open air, the way she leaned back and slowed her tauntaun as she cast her gaze across the white landscape.

"Agent?"

"...there's something out there," she said after a long moment. "Watching us."

It wasn't hard to guess that she wasn't comfortable with the current situation. If he was being honest, something about this was bothering him too; what would make the ensign return to the ships? Both ships were watched by the remaining members of the teams, as well as port guards, and if she'd needed something, surely one of them could have run it to her...

He nudged his tauntaun closer to her, and reached over to rest his hand on her arm; Toni was generally receptive to touch as much to words, and they admittedly weren't going to get answers by looking around for watchers. Not that he doubted her; the Star Cabal was scattered... that didn't mean it was broken, no matter what she'd done to the Black Codex.

"We are here," he said calmly.

She looked at him for a long moment, subtle emotion flicking across her face; it was rare he found himself unable to comfort her, but it appeared that this was going to be one of those times. Instead of responding, she nudged her tauntaun back up to a quicker pace, heading for the ice bridge that would get them to the main path.

Vector let her pull ahead, let her get onto the bridge first; if she needed some space, he would give her that, allow her time to compose her thoughts until she had the words she wanted to say. It was peculiar, this knowing someone just from personal knowledge, and not as another Joiner... but he liked it like this too.

He smiled a little, resolving to tell her somehow, when the snow exploded.

It was a little like watching a slow-motion vid capture; the force of the blast catching Toni off-guard. Her arm starting to raise as the tauntaun jerked sideways. The concussive wave flinging the tauntaun towards the edge of the bridge. Toni untangling herself from the saddle, ready to leap to safety.

Toni in mid jump when a grenade exploded less than a foot from her and flung her over the edge.

Realization crashed through him a moment later, and he prepared to launch himself forward, to climb down the cliff if he had to—his nestmates quivered with his fear and panic, sharing in them and trying to help soothe it—when thick wire wrapped around his arms, and he was yanked backwards off of his tauntaun, to crack his head on hard-packed ice and snow.

Stunned, he could only watch helplessly as tall, white-fur-shrouded people popped out of the snow. One of them looked towards the ice bridge, their posture radiating satisfaction...

And then a sharp needle stabbed through the layers of Hoth-climate clothing, and sent him spiraling down into silence and darkness. As the light faded, he had time for one last thought.

If Toni survived the fall, these people were _all_ going to die.

* * *

Modiri dusted her hands off slightly as they set the last of the explosives in place, nodding a little at the sight of a job well done. Torian had sealed the doors at the back of the cave, and placed a few of the remaining grenades among the components that Blizz hadn't pocketed; to be thorough, since they weren't sent on a retrieval mission, after all.

Seemed like a waste of materials, but the aristocre had said blow the place, so blow the place they would.

"Everything connected, Blizz?"

"All good, boss!" the Jawa chirped.

"Nothing out of place," Torian nodded a little. "Let's get out and blow it so we can catch up."

He didn't _sound_ worried, but Modiri glanced at the chronometer and realized that it had been a long time for Toni to _not_ check in. Given that their two crews were more like a weird family than anything else, Torian's quiet concern was telling.

"Yeah, all right. Let's-"

Explosions in small spaces were impossible to misconstrue. Since there wasn't much chance Blizz would set things off while they were still _there_ , that meant one of two things. One, the pirates had blown up the door at the back, or two, they had some faulty explosives.

Given that she didn't hear voices, she was inclined to go with the latter, and swore briefly.

"Move move _move!_ "

Because if one went off, the rest were chained to do the same, and getting caught in a cave in wasn't her idea of a fun time.

Torian was already scrambling, heading for the front of the cave that wasn't more than one hundred feet away. Modiri paused only to grab Bliz when he looked like he might start heading _towards_ the booms—because Blizz was nothing if not a tech perfectionist and would get himself hurt trying to figure out why things had gone off too early—before she followed.

The cascade effect, unfortunately, worked against her, and the explosions were faster than she was; she hissed out a curse, and decided that if she wasn't going to make it out, well damnitall, Blizz _was_ , and full-on threw the little Jawa like he was a ball, before diving into what was hopefully a solid corner that would withstand the worst of this as the cave came down around her ears.

* * *

Blizz hit Torian in the back, and they both tumbled out of the cave, propelled as much by the explosions as they were by their own forward motion. Blizz ended up landing among a small pile of snow-covered rocks, while Torian sprawled in a graceless heap, face-first in the snow.

It took the little Jawa a few moments to regain his senses, but that time was really all that was needed for things to get even worse; pulling himself upright, Blizz watched in shock as some tall bipeds in white fur jumped out of the snow to pounce on Torian, cuffing the stunned Manalorian before he had a chance to recover. Startled swearing was cut off as one of them applied a stim to Torian's arm—and that had to be a long needle, considering the layers they wore against the cold—that appeared to knock the human out in short order.

"What about the Jawa?" one asked

"The little bastard's buried with the green bitch," another said contemptuously. "They won't last long. Besides, he's just another damn Jawa. They're _all_ techjunks, not a damn thing unique about the lot of them."

The first one looked around and Blizz held very still in his hiding place. He didn't quite understand what was going on, but he knew that if they spotted him, it wouldn't go well.

"Yeah, all right," they said after a minute. "Let's get the fuck out of here before those damn pirates come poking around."

The pair loaded Torian onto a speeder... and Blizz quickly, quietly caught up, jumping onto the back of the second one before they could zip off. He cast a brief glance behind him at the tunnel where Modiri had not emerged from and hung his head a little; Boss was going to have to make her own way out.

* * *

Modiri's chosen nook had probably saved her life, but it hadn't completely shielded her from the explosions and the roof caving in. She could taste blood in her mouth, her ears were ringing in a manner that indicated she wasn't going to be hearing a _damn_ thing for a few hours at least, and that was just the _start_ of things.

She moved slowly, swearing under her breath as said movement produced flares of pain. She knew perfectly well what broken bones felt like and was forced to admit that she had broken _several_. Upper arm, forearm... ribs, definitely. Possibly one leg too. How she had avoided getting anything pinned under stone and snow was anyone's guess.

She couldn't see for shit either; the little hollow was as black as the inside of a pocket. And it was a _little_ hollow too. She had just enough room amidst the packed snow and stone to move maybe half a foot, if that. Standing up from her curled up position was absolutely out of the question; the 'ceiling' was less than two inches over her head.

Tunneling out was _maybe_ possible, but she was no longer sure which way was _out_ , and her holocom was in pieces thanks to the explosion. Her earpiece still worked, but that didn't mean much when she couldn't hear for shit.

She ground out another curse that she couldn't hear, and slowly rested her back against the cave wall, taking shallow breaths; being rescued from stupid shit wasn't really her style, but she didn't have much of a choice right now. She couldn't dig her own way out, not without risking further injury and the collapse of her safe pocket, so sitting and waiting was about the only thing she could do.

At least the little hollow wasn't as cold as it had been...

* * *

The speeder Blizz was clinging to followed no known roads or terrain that Blizz could recognize, at a speed which made the desert-dweller glad that Bluefriend had been insistent they all change into more Hoth-suitable clothing. In his normal fur-lined brown, he would have stood out like a sparking wire; in this white on white, extra warm outfit, even clinging to the back of the speeder, the fur-wearing people didn't seem to take any note of him.

TorianBoss probably would have, but TorianBoss was unconscious. And the way the people had spoken, Blizz felt certain that the rest of the family was in trouble too. With Boss stuck in the cave, and Bluefriend who-knew-where, well, _someone_ had to figure out where everyone was, and ensure that nothing Bad happened to them.

Granted, bad things tended to follow both women, but not necessarily _Bad_ bad. Exciting bad, maybe, and certainly everything got fixed up once they got involved...

When the speeders finally started to slow, Blizz took a quick look around for some cover; they were approaching what looked to be an abandoned military outpost, dug into the ground like all the other ones on this planet, and covered in snow with no real way of discerning where it really was if you weren't specifically looking for it. As they slid past some lumpy-looking snow, he dropped from the speeder, and huddled down behind the bulk of one of the lumps.

No one seemed to notice a thing, and Blizz immediately decided to use that to his advantage; he was small, and in these clothes, he was all but invisible. Most big folk never looked _down_ , and that made it all to easy to follow them into the base. Sneakily attaching a beacon to the wall in an easily-missed corner was just a matter of recourse; once she got out and found Toni, Modiri would need to know where to go so that things could go boom.

As he followed, moving more or less unseen in this strange base, Blizz continued to try and contact anyone else that was supposed to be available. Mako, Lokin, Temple, Vector... all returned nothing but dead air. He even tried Gault, as far away as he was, but only received a burst of static for his troubles.

The sight of a space transport made him stop short for a moment, brain working quickly. He could stay in this base, mess with their comms, slice their computers, and _maybe_ find out what was going on.

Or he could stow away on the ship where they were loading TorianBoss, and _really_ figure this stuff out. And then slice the ship, or wherever they ended up coming out at, because that was the best way to learn _anything_.

It didn't really take him that long to decide; the cargo hold was unguarded, and soon enough he was tucked between a few crates, awaiting takeoff. These bigfolk would never see him coming.

* * *

Breathing _hurt_.

That was the first thing she realized as she started coming too at last. The second was that she was awkwardly hung over something, arms and legs dangling in the frozen air. She tasted blood in her mouth and started to try and spit it out before remembering that she was wearing a facemask, and the blood wouldn't go very far.

Toni moved one arm with a wince—the grenade blast had shredded some of the fabric on her left side, exposing her to injury as well as Hoth's icy air—then froze as she wobbled precariously on the ice spar that had undoubtedly saved her life.

Her balance, however, was shot. If she moved too far, or too fast, she was going to slip right off, and the ground was a sheer drop of well over five hundred feet.

Not that she could stay put, however. Oh no. She had to find either a way up, or a way down.

Slowly, breathing shallowly through her mouth in an effort to avoid having the broken ribs puncture her insides, she inched one of her legs up, wanting to get into a position where she could at least _try_ to lay lengthwise instead of dangling. From there, she carefully slid her hands along the ice until she was sitting upright, then started edging backwards, a feat that left her exhausted, even as she managed to get to a point where she could lean back against the snow-covered cliff.

The top of the cliff was nearly as far away as the bottom, and there was no sign of Vector. A small pit formed in her stomach, but she forced herself to push it aside; she couldn't panic now, not when she didn't have any information. He might have gone for help, or he might be dead, but she wouldn't _know_ until she found a way off the protrusion.

* * *

Modiri tried to shake off the drowsiness that the cold brought; she could remember Toni saying that falling asleep in cold like this could lead to death entirely too easy. And she was damn well not going to _die_ on this stupid, frozen iceball. At least the ringing in her ears had died enough that she could hear herself speaking again, and she had been trying to contact someone. Anyone. For what felt like hours.

Her hands and feet were going numb. Hell, her _ass_ was going numb. But she still tried again, cycling the frequencies. Torian. Mako.

"- _diri?_ "

Toni!

"About goddamn time!" she snapped. "Toni where the hell are you?"

"- _an't here you... 's hap-_ "

Of course. The connection had already been spotty when Temple had contacted Toni. The cave in had probably only made it worse.

"Shit..." she muttered. Then carefully raising her voice. "Something went wrong, Toni. I got caught in the cave in. The hell happened to you?"

Static crackled harshly through the line, but Modiri refused to disconnect. Toni hearing her was her only chance of getting out of this before Hoth's cold ate into her.

" _-o if you can... -plosion knocked me... -avine trying t.._ "

If she hadn't already been injured, she might have punched the wall. Hearing her sister-friend only in fits and spurts didn't help, not when she was almost certain that Toni was trying to tell her something important.

"Toni, I have no idea what you're saying..."

Silence. Not even static that indicated Toni was trying to say something. And then, very clearly;

" _Oh damn_."

"Toni? _Toni!_ "

Through the bursts of static, Modiri thought she heard her friend's panting breaths, and something that cracked. Not the sound of a blaster, but not a pleasant sound either. She tried to stand and whacked her head hard enough on the makeshift ceiling that she saw starts, and swore for a good two minutes to relieve her frustrated feelings. Her swearing was punctuated by muffled bursts of static, and at least twice by distinct yelps of Toni in pain.

But she was also becoming away of noise _outside_ her little hollow. Scraping sounds, and the occasional crunch. A rush of noise that sounded almost like it could be a flamethrower. Had Torian and Blizz finally managed to get to her? Had the brought reinforcements? They damn well better have because once she was out, _someone_ was going to have to get their ass kicked, just on principle.

"Toni, Toni, can you hear me?" she demanded, trying not to swear—for once—as she attempted to shift around in the direction the noises were coming from. "Keep the channel open if you can, I'll come find you!"

Whatever Toni might have said was lost in a crackle of white noise that made Modiri grit her teeth; she didn't dare cut the connection from her end, because there was no guarantee that she'd be able to reestablish it. Putting up with the discomfort was a small price to pay, however, if it meant being linked to _someone_.

She lowered her uninjured arm down to one of her blasters just in case, hissing as numb fingers responded slowly and painfully. True, a foe would have no reason to try and dig her out, but it was better to be safe rather than sorry.

* * *

Toni decided that laying at the bottom of the ravine until everything stopped screaming at her was probably a good idea, no matter the cold. If that damn ice grip hadn't broken at _just_ the wrong moment, she could have made it to the top. Instead, now she was stuck at the bottom, her winter gear shredded by sharp ice that had left gouges in her skin as well, which bled into the clothes and snow both.

 _Walking_ out of the ravine was definitely out of the question. She had felt more than heard things in her legs and feet crack when she'd hit the ground, and even the emergency kolto hadn't done more than just dull the worst of it.

Was this how she was going to die, then? Frozen at the bottom of a Hoth ravine, not knowing whether Vector was alive?

It was so cold... she was worn out just from trying to climb with the broken ribs, and the ensuing fall had done next to nothing in her favor. Even hearing Modiri's voice...

Modiri.

"Mo?" she asked weakly. "Can you hear me? Are you there?"

A snap of static.

"- _itty connection... -omeone com... -eep the line...-Toni?_ "

Still in the cave then. Hadn't they finished wiring it? Her chronometer said that it had been a while since she'd left. Damn this terrible connection anyways, what good was it if she couldn't understand?!

She forced herself to be calm; panic made her heart race, and if she bled too much, she'd freeze all the more quickly. She had to find some way of learning just what had happened, had to find a way to _plan_ for what had gone wrong. That was her strength, damnit, always having some kind of a plan.

All the emergency beacons had been with Vector. A sound idea at the time, but now she wished she had even a flare gun. And with Modiri in her ear, she couldn't contact Saganu; she was unwilling to just drop the signal when only two words in ten seemed to be getting through. Scaring Modiri would only piss her Mirialan friend off, and that never ended well.

She had to get out of this ravine somehow. If that meant crawling, well then, she was just going to have to crawl.

Slowly, whimpering softly with the pain of it, Toni managed to roll onto her side, then onto her stomach; bone grated unpleasantly, and made her glad that she was getting numb. What she _could_ feel was bad enough, and while it still paled in comparison to the day of torture she'd suffered, making it worse was low on her list of things to do. Then she carefully levered herself to hands and knees, and slowly, slowly, started to inch her way in the direction that she hoped would lead her back up to the main road.

* * *

Blizz wasn't terrible at waiting, but it was easier when he had something to keep himself busy with. Which was why there were now a few booby-trapped boxes of supplies in the cargo hold. Nothing fatal, just a few stun grenades, and considering how scary both Boss and Bluefriend would be when they arrived, it might actually _save_ a few lives.

When tall people in strange uniforms arrived—neither Republic nor Imperial—Blizz found himself a corner, and huddled up, taking pains to look like nothing more than a lump of snow that had managed to build up.

"-so, the green bitch is buried, and the blue one fell off the cliff?" one of them was saying as he stepped in with a hovercart. He lacked any form of accent, which meant he'd likely come from Republic space.

"Got _grenaded_ off the cliff," his companion corrected, a gleeful tone in his lilting voice. "Not much chance either one of them survived their 'accidents,' which means we don't have ta worry about a thing, and the bosses can take their time experimentin on the ones they wanted. Maybe I'll have some time with the little cyborg cutie."

"Ugh, you and your machine fetish. More information than I needed."

The second man only snickered as they loaded a few boxes onto the cart and pushed it out. Blizz waited a couple minutes, then followed; so it wasn't just TorianBoss that had been snatched up, it was probably friendbug and _definitely_ computerfriend. And if that was the case then probably doctoperson had been snatched up too.

Which was strange; why would anyone risk pissing off both Boss and Bluefriend this way? Bluefriend especially reacted badly to people who threatened them. And Boss had _missiles._

Well, there was one way to find out, and there was a very conveniently placed entrance into the air ducts not far from the ship.

* * *

By the time the Chiss workers broke through the wall, Modiri was ready to murder _someone_. Only the fact that they had identified themselves before actually breaking down the last few feet of snow and stone had kept her from shooting them. The fresh air was bitterly cold, but a welcome distraction from listening to the bursts of static that were only occasionally quiet enough for her to make out the sound of Toni straining to do something.

"Come on then," one of the Chiss said, carefully pointing the handlight down at the floor to avoid blinding Modiri. "Can you stand?"

"Maybe..."

She had been huddled into a ball for what felt like forever; it had been at least two, maybe three hours at this point, and only the fact that her hollow was small had kept her from going so numb as to be unable to feel a damn thing. On the one hand, that probably would have been a blessing, as movement made every damn thing _hurt_ , but at least that meant she was alive, and nothing was frozen so bad that she was in danger of losing it.

Theoretically, anyways.

"What the hell's going on?" she demanded as the Chiss carefully extracted her from the hollow into the six foot high tunnel they had carved out.

"Not sure, ma'am," was the cautious reply. "Aristocre Saganu was hoping you might be able to tell us that, actually. Is there anyone else farther in?"

"...shit no," and she swore a little more in her native tongue as her left leg refused to take her weight. Her whole left side was probably a wreck of busted bones, which she could now _feel_ thanks to being moved. "Toni got a distress call from Temple and took Vector with her, and I threw Blizz out after Torian when it was clear we were gonna get our asses buried! What, didn't Torian...?"

"I'll let the aristocre brief you," the Chiss male said after a moment. "But you're going to need some extensive medical treatment..."

She bit back the sarcastic comment... barely. Only knowing that these people respected Toni, and her through that, kept her from snarling the man's head off.

"Fine. But I better _damn well_ get some answers."

The static that crackled over the still open channel almost sounded like it could have been weak laughter.

There were twenty people crowded around the roughly excavated hole; half were facing away, weapons at the ready in case the pirates showed up, while the rest looked as though they'd been resting, or awaiting orders. If she'd been in possession of two working legs, Modiri would have stomped right up to Saganu and demanded to know what the _fuck_ was going on. Instead she got loaded onto a floating stretcher, and he came to her. The distinct _lack_ of either Torian or Blizz did nothing to improve her mood.

"We'll take you back to base, and have the medical droids and out own medics tend to you," he said briskly. "It was just you in the cavern?"

"Yeah," and now that she was out in the clear air, cold as it was, her head almost felt a little clearer. "Toni got a weird call from Temple a while ago, and took Vector to check on her. Some shit happened to Toni too, but fuck if I know what... shittiest connection in the world right here."

Saganu nodded sharply, his eyes narrowing a little behind the tinted snow goggles. She couldn't really tell if he was angry, worried, or what, but his expression reminded her a little of Toni at her most furious.

"We'll find her," he said quietly, firmly. "Now. Alpha squad, form up. Beta, take Modiri back to base, get her into the infirmary."

It was probably the logical thing to do, but logic and Modiri didn't often exist on the same planet. Logic was _Toni's_ thing.

"Fuck that, I'm going with you!"

"You are not," and now he frowned at her. "You can't even _walk_."

"So drag me on this stupid thing!"

"No."

She still had one good arm, and started pushing herself up off the stretcher; Saganu pushed her back down, and she swore at him for a solid thirty seconds, having forgotten about her open comlink to Toni.

" _Modiri, just_ behave _, damnit!_ " Toni snapped.

It was the clearest thing she'd gotten since the earlier 'oh damn', and it startled her still for just enough time that a medic pounced on her with something in a syringe. Saganu managed to avoid getting clipped by her punch, but the medic wasn't anywhere near as lucky.

Whatever was _in_ the syringe worked fast, though, and furious anger was dimmed into darkness even as she struggled to stay awake.

"Stick to the main roads, and keep your eyes open. We _will_ find them." was the last thing she heard Saganu saying before the sedative took full effect and dragged her down into empty darkness.

* * *

The wind was colder now, night had fallen finally on the ice planet, and Toni was only a few feet closer to her goal than she had been when she'd snarled at Modiri to behave for whoever had come to her rescue. Crawling was slow, a painstaking process that took all of her focus, and almost too much energy. If Modiri hadn't been swearing at someone so profusely...

She couldn't feel her feet any more at this point. Too cold, too _dangerously_ cold. She could only feel her arms because she kept moving them, but a lot of things had been growing more and more numb as she had tried to find a way up, a way out. There _had_ to be one; she knew this ravine connected to pathways up and out, but she just couldn't _find_ one.

And she was running out of the drive to keep going. It was cold. _So_ cold. What was the point? There was no maybe about Vector being dead now; if he hadn't been, he would have been there already. He had always been so protective, so determined to care for her even when she didn't indicate a need for it.

Her trembling arms gave out, and Toni abruptly found herself face down int the snow. It wasn't the first time, she'd fallen, but she laid there for several moments, searching for the energy to get back up.

So.

This _was_ how she was going to die.

There was almost something funny about that; not that she'd ever really expected to live to a ripe old age, but dying here on Hoth seemed so very strange. So far from what she'd ever thought her death might be like.

Somehow she managed to roll onto her back, looking up at the star-studded sky as pain skittered dimly across her body. It was so pretty, that sky. Never mind that a war was being fought among them, the stars shone with a promise, a light that she had always loved.

How had things gone this wrong? All she had wanted to do was...

Was...

Toni closed her eyes, and slid into the darkness.

* * *

Like most bases, this one was laid out in an easily-followed manner, and it didn't take Blizz long to map his way around to the important places. He couldn't tell which little enclosed rooms held which friend—the main duct traveled through the middle of the block, not through the rooms, and these were old fashioned cells with doors that were locked with external padlocks instead of energy shields—but that didn't matter. All he needed to do was blow open _every_ door, and he would eventually find his friends.

Though first he had to wait for the bigfolk at the end of the hall to go away.

As he waited, he built little explosive devices; big enough to shatter the door locks, but small enough that the noise would be contained. Because he only had the one blaster, and if the bigfolk were any sort of reasonably smart, they would have disarmed his friends.

"-on't see why they're making us guard these people," the guard complained as she walked past Blizz's hiding spot. "We're on the second moon, where the hell are the going to go? A space jaunt? Not even that Ratataki bitch is _that_ crazy. And it's not like they could get any of our shuttles to start, not without the keycards."

"Yeah, but remember the last time someone set the cameras on that recorded loop? Shit, the screeching didn't end for _months_."

"Look, we've disarmed and drugged them. They're not going _anywhere_ , and I want a drink."

The second guard seemed to think about this for a few moments, then sighed and shrugged.

"Fine, but if we get caught, I'm throwing you under the shuttle."

The first guard snorted a little, and the two walked down the hall and out of sight. Blizz waited an extra few minutes, just in case, then undid the cover of the air vent and jumped down. The landing was a bit on the rough side, but within seconds he was back on his feet and sticking his makeshift bomb to the lock nearest his exit point. It beeped twice, then there was a muffled sort of crump and the lock shattered.

Blizz put his shoulder to the heavy metal door and pushed until it was open just enough for him to slip in.

The cell was small, and nearly empty; anything potentially useful was fused with something far more solid than it had any right to be. The bed, for instance, on which Mako was laying, was all one solid piece with the floor. There was no medical equipment in sight, and best of all, no camera.

Now he just needed to wake her up.

* * *

Modiri managed to force herself into brief periods of awareness despite the best attempts of the Chiss medics to keep her sedated while they tended to her injuries. They didn't last _long_ , but she was just that angry... and as Kaliyo had said once or twice, had the constitution of someone twice her size.

When she was finally allowed to be awake _properly_ , she was ready to hit someone, or maybe dismantle the med droid—they'd _disarmed_ her, damnit!—right up until she caught a look at the person in the bed next to hers.

Toni.

She could arguably say that the Chiss woman had looked worse, but it was a close assumption. Toni was still out of it, and her eyes looked sunken in from the pain. But she was there, and she was breathing.

"You're awake."

And there was Saganu, standing at the end of the bed, looking calmer than he probably had any damn right to be.

"You assholes _drugged_ me," Modiri snarled.

"You were being unreasonable," he replied, steel in that calm tone. "If you remain so, we'll do it again."

Bastard probably would too...

"Tell me what happened," Saganu said after a moment, arms folded across his chest. "And then I'll tell you what we know."

She swore at him for thirty seconds, which only earned her a raised eyebrow.

"She got a call from Temple, couldn't hear for shit," Modiri finally snapped, gesturing towards Toni. "Said it sounded like Temple was trying to tell her something important, but then the connection dropped abruptly. She and Vector took off to find out just what the fuck was going on, and we stuck around to finish blowing up the cave, _which then tried to fall on my head!_ "

Saganu weathered her temper with little change in his own expression. Didn't do much to help her temper, and she made an impatient gesture at him, ignoring the spike of pain it drove through her am.

"Ensign Temple became concerned when Dr. Lokin and Ms. Mako failed to check in at the proper time," he said. "She decided to head back to Dorn to check on them in person. We began the search once an hour's leeway had passed. We couldn't get a fix on your location until your comm connected to Toni."

"How fucking long has it been?"

"Long enough," he replied grimly. "My people are scouring the area. We haven't picked up any distress signals... but neither have we found any bodies."

No bodies could be good or bad here on Hoth. Wampa's or those damn snow cats could have dragged a body off... but no, Torian wouldn't let himself get eaten; he'd never hear the end of it. And Blizz was too damn resourceful.

Modiri moved to swing her legs over the side of the bed, and snarled a little when Saganu moved to block her from standing up.

"Get the fuck out of my way, I have asshole pirates to kill."

"Pirates don't have the resources to slice their way into setting off explosives," he replied, "or making your friends vanish."

"So fucking what?! I'll start killing them until they tell me who the fuck _does!_ "

"And what if they don't know?"

A rational question that, on any other day, probably would have given her pause. This day? Not so much. At this point she didn't really _care_ that Toni liked him, all that mattered was that he was between her and finding her crew, and like _fuck_ she was going to stand for it!

Saganu must've seen it in her face, because the next thing she knew he had a medpack in hand and was applying the needle of a sedative to her arm. This time she _did_ manage to punch him... but damned if the sedative didn't do exactly what it was supposed to and make her all loose and floaty.

"My people are looking for yours," he said, his voice sounding fuzzy, as though she was hearing it through a wall. "You will stay put, and we will continue treating you until we know more. And yes, Modiri, if we have to, we will continue to sedate you until that point."

She made a rude gesture even as he helped her lay back down on the bed. At least he was going to have one hell of a bruise...

* * *

"Ugh... my head," Mako groaned.

"Awake-awake!" Blizz cheered in his native tongue, bouncing eagerly to his feet. "Good, good, now we break computers and get other friends!"

"Wha...?"

Blizz scrutinized the brunette cyborg; Mako was usually more quick to wake up than this, but on the other hand, she had been drugged somehow, so this was probably to be expected.

"Up-up," he urged, pulling at her hand as she slowly pushed herself upright. "Bigfolk still away, but not know how long."

"Where _are_ we?" Mako asked, rubbing one temple with her free hand. "What's going on?"

To that, Blizz could only shrug. He didn't have any idea _why_ his friendfamily had all been taken to this strange place, only that he had made a good choice in deciding to tag along and see what he could do in retaliation for these people burying Boss.

"Moonbase, say bigfolk. Not know what else."

So maybe he should have eavesdropped more thoroughly as he mapped the base. Nothing to be done about it now. He just wanted to blow open the rest of the doors and get at all his other friends, but Mako was currently the most important. _She_ could slice _anything._

"A moonbase? Who's crazy enough to... actually, no, never mind, I don't want to know. How are we getting out of here? Where's Mo or Toni?"

"Bluefriend and Boss not here yet," Blizz replied. "Gonna break selves out!"

Mako blinked at him, then sighed.

"Great. I always get to have the _best_ times when I leave the ship."

Blizz patted Mako's knee in what he thought was a comforting manner, then stepped back expectantly. With another sigh, Mako got to her feet, then glanced down at him quizically.

"Hey, how'd you _get_ here anyways?"

"Hitched a ride~"

From her expression, he was fairly sure she was trying to decide if she wanted to ask him to clarify that or not. Instead of giving her the chance, he nudged her towards the door.

"Bigfolk not stay gone long," he warned. "Big 'puter at end of hall! Maybe tell more!"

Mako was big on gathering information he knew; more often than not, all of Boss's bounties were because Mako could hack into any system at any time. It would definitely get her a lot more information than asking _him_ questions at any rate, so after another minute she carefully peered out into the hall, then slipped out of the cell, Blizz on her heels, if only briefly. All the other doors in this hallway were locked too, and what better way to sow chaos and confusion than by opening them all?

* * *

It was a snapping, fizzing sound that finally threw Toni out of the warm and comforting darkness she had been hiding in; something about that sound triggered awareness in her, demanded her immediate attention whether she cared to give it or not.

She was halfway sitting up when the pain made her stop, and she gritted her teeth rather than make a sound. A glance to the side showed an exasperated medic trying to make Modiri lay still again, blocking the Mirialan woman's attempt at punching her in the face with the medical pad.

"Lemme up!" Modiri demanded. "And gimme back my blasters! I have pirates to kill!"

Movement at her side made Toni go still; she moved her head slowly, then managed to relax slightly when she saw Saganu's face. He helped her to sit up the rest of the way, taking care to put his hands on the parts of her that weren't covered in medical tape.

"I have people out hunting your friends," he said quietly. "But Modiri does not seem inclined to be... patient."

"In short, what happened?" she countered.

"In short, she was almost buried alive," Saganu replied. "And you would have frozen to death if not for her foresight to open a comm channel to you. The spotty signal led us to her, and then once we were far enough out of White Maw territory, it strengthened enough that we found you."

"...Vector?"

"I don't know. Not yet. We _are_ looking for them, Toni. For all of them. We have not found any bodies, or trails of blood."

No bodies. No blood. The indication that it was not just Vector, not just Raina.

Her brain was still working sluggishly, but the idea that their people had been a target fired a synapse. Then another. And another, until everything cascaded into a blinding point, and Toni's hands curled into fists.

"Modiri, this is not the wok of pirates," she said shortly, earning the Mirialan woman's attention. "This is too _smart_ for pirates. If this could be anything, it was the work of the Star Cabal. Or what's left of it."

"If it was the fucking Star Cabal, we'd be _dead_ ," Modiri shot back... though she did seem to have calmed down a little at hearing Toni's voice.

"You nearly were," Saganu replied. "Both of you. And you both still have recovering to do."

Toni couldn't argue with the assessment; just sitting up made everything hurt. But at least she could _feel_ everything, and hadn't lost any of her extremities to frostbite, or hypothermia. And while the idea that Vector wasn't dead produced a profound agitation in her, she had more practice than Modiri did at patience and waiting.

"Fuck that," Modiri snapped. "Give me back my damn guns and let me go shoot _something!_ "

"Modiri, save that temper of yours for the people who deserve it," Toni said shortly. "Saganu has _his_ people out looking for _our_ people, and do _you_ want to half-ass a rescue? I certainly don't!"

Modiri didn't _quite_ subside, but the words did seem to get through, at least a little.

"I know you don't like waiting, or being still, but right now, we don't have other options, and we are _not_ going to go and slaughter pirates just because you think they might know something," Toni continued. "Not only would it be ultimately pointless, I'm fairly certain that if pushed too hard, they _would_ come after us in greater numbers than we two can handle, and while you might not balk at getting Saganu's people killed, _I do_. So we _are_ going to stay on the medbeds and let the medpacks and kolto heal us up until moving doesn't hurt any more, and we _are_ going to wait for information."

She didn't often yell at Modiri. Typically, she didn't need to; Mo wasn't actually that unreasonable a person. About the only time she had yelled and it had been deserved was when Modiri had smarted off to the Dread Masters on Belsavis, and that had been mostly on Vector's behalf, not because Toni had actually disagreed with how the Sith had been handled.

Right now, however, she was still in a lot of pain. There was no Vector to stand at her side, to hold her hand, smooth her head and speak to her in a quiet voice. If she was reading the information right, _all_ of their crew was missing, not just the boys.

"Fine, but I'm not gonna be fucking happy about it," Modiri groused.

"I'm not telling you to be happy about it, I'm telling you to _stop it_ ," Toni snapped. "Let me _think_ for more than thirty seconds, _if you please_."

The tone seemed to get though if nothing else, and even though she grumbled about it under her breath, Modiri finally stopped fighting the restraints quite so hard. Toni let out a pained breath of irritation, rubbed her face with both hands, then looked to Saganu who had remained wisely silent.

"Before we got involved with the pirates, Raina said she was getting strange readings from one of the moons," she said. "Was she able to look into that before she attempted to return to the ships?"

"Yes," he said with a small nod. "It appears there _is_ a base embedded in the rock of the second moon, but the shielding on it is exacting and hard to break through, so we don't have a good sense of it just yet. It's certainly not Imperial _or_ Republic, however. It _might_ be piratical, but not White Maw, which does not lend itself to any useful knowledge."

"Why the fuck are you asking about that?" Modiri demanded.

"Because Raina mentioned it, and she doesn't say things without reason," Toni replied patiently. "It might be a lead."

Modiri grumbled a little, and Toni ignored it.

"What information on the base _do_ you have?"

* * *

Mako focused on the slicing while Blizz blew open the rest of the doors in the wing; in the end he found three women—Raina included—on medbeds, and one who looked like she just wanted to blow something up but was refraining because there was nothing _to_ blow up. At least, not yet. Blizz was actually pretty sure the only reason she hadn't attacked him when he'd pushed the door open was because he was a Jawa, and not one of the bigfolk that had put them all in the rooms.

The redhead had marched down to the end of the corridor to join Mako, which left Blizz to figure out how to disconnect Raina from the medbed without hurting her. She was breathing all right, or at least,that was how it looked; if it hadn't been a medbed, he would have sworn she was just asleep and whatever they'd dosed her with would wear off the same way it had with Mako.

Why was Raina attached to a medbed? Admittedly, he didn't know the ensign very well; Toni always brought Vector along when it came to fighting. As far as he knew, Raina filled the same role on Toni's ship as Mako did on Modiri's, but whatever else she might offer, he wasn't too sure.

After a minute, Blizz shrugged to himself; he would ask Bluefriend later, once she and Boss had finished blowing up the place.

Problem was, he didn't know how to get her off the medbed without causing issues; Jawa didn't use that sort of thing for themselves, and he didn't want to hurt the ensign. After another minute of thought he left the room and trotted down to Mako, who was talking with the crabby redhead woman.

"-on't really know what's going on either," Mako was saying as he came within earshot. "I was watching my friend's ship when I got grabbed, and these files have about twenty different encryption layers on them. Even for me, it's a bit slow. It's all on an enclosed system at that, and with about fifteen other uses currently logged in. Just because the cameras here are on a feedback loop doesn't mean I actually have the space to go in and recklessly overturn everything, Risha."

The redhead—Risha—made an annoyed sound but stepped back a little.

"Can you at least tell me where they put all my stuff?" she asked, glancing down at herself. "These shipsuits don't flatter anyone, and I'd like my gun back."

"Wouldn't we all?" Mako muttered. Then glanced at him and smiled a little. "Hey Blizz..."

Risha turned and scrutinized him, but Blizz didn't pay her much attention.

"Medbeds on, how to turn off?"

"Um... that's an excellent question, " Mako chewed her lower lip, eyes going back to the screen of the computer.

All of them had basic first aid skills—you didn't work with Modiri and _not_ learn how to be a field medic—but Blizz didn't really know how to work things more complicated than a kolto injector. Neither, it seemed, did Mako.

"Well, this escape is off to a fine start," Risha muttered.

"Hey, if you know how to disconnect someone from a medbed, be my guest," Mako retorted. "The only reason we're out at all is because Blizz is awesome."

Blizz puffed up a little in pride, then tugged Mako's pant leg.

"TorianBoss?"

"...they grabbed Torian too?"

He nodded, and Mako frowned.

"I did get a map of at least this level," she said after a minute; Blizz instantly offered up his datapad for her to use, and she started downloading things onto it. "Looks like there's two detention wings. This one for women, and another for guys. Nothing marked 'contraband' or 'weapons room' otherwise I'd say go there first, but if you can get across the base, I bet you'd find Torian in that wing, and who knows who else."

"Wait, you're going to send him off alone?"

"Blizz be fine," Blizz said, pointing at the air duct entrance not more than a few feet away. "Bigfolk never look~"

Risha looked skeptical, but shrugged after a minute, and Mako smiled ruefully.

"There's a couple of unmarked rooms that _might_ hold stuff, but don't take any ridiculous risks, okay, Blizz? If nothing else, we might be able to liberate stuff from the guards when they finally come to check on us."

"Blizz go. Back soon," he promised, and once he had his datapad back in hand, scampered into the air ducts and started making his way through towards the opposite wing of the base.

* * *

"A beacon?"

Saganu nodded, and Toni put aside the datapad she'd been using to manipulate the probe around the second moon, giving him her full attention.

"It's a low-powered one; my scouts almost missed it," he said.

He was standing closer to her bed than Modiri's. She couldn't blame him for that; the bruise that had bloomed across his jaw _was_ pretty impressive, and Modiri was still in a snit. A simmering one, but Toni knew from experience that this rage would keep her going until the reason for it was snuffed out.

She didn't blame her friend, but working to learn more about the moon, _and_ keep Modiri's temper in check, _and_ putting up with the necessary rebandaging and kolto injections weren't really doing much for her own control. Only the fact that she knew Modiri might well try and go off if Toni _didn't_ talk her down was keeping her from just going silent.

Only her own anxiety, well-buried, kept her from resting and allowing the medical work to actually do the job it was supposed to.

"So where is it, and what does it lead to?"

"An old base, much like the ones occupied by Imperial and Republic military. There's a heavy shielding on it, however. No readings from anything internal. We can't tell if people are there, or how many floors it may have."

And if his expression was anything to go by, he didn't want to let them investigate on their own. Unfortunately for him, that was probably going to be the only way they received any answers, and Toni would admit that she was tired of trying to hold Modiri back.

"Knowing our people, if there's a beacon and it's not bait, then it was set deliberately, and we are meant to find it," she said briskly, swinging her legs off the bed, and trying not to wince as even that simple movement made her want to whimper. The last time she'd suffered this much pain, she'd slept for twelve hours at least after enduring it... But no, if their people were all taken, then be damned to the pain. "We'll need our weapons and armor, Saganu."

Saganu frowned a little, then sighed.

"I would that you rest more," he said quietly, reaching out as if to steady her as she lowered herself to the floor. She let him, and refused to let on just how much it hurt to stand. It would hurt more, in other ways, if she lost any of her people. "But I doubt I can properly stop either of you without losing what little regard I still entail."

Modiri's restraints had been turned off once it had been proven that Toni could keep her more or less in place while kolto and medpacks worked to heal injuries. When Toni moved, so did Modiri, though Mo was much more vocal about pain. Toni shook her head a little, and offered Saganu a weary smile.

"You still hold more than you know, but... these people are family, Saganu. Any lead we can get, we must jump on; you and your people have risked yourselves enough. _More_ than enough."

A reminder, if a gentle one, that the last time he had gotten involved in her mission, he had nearly died. He was a good man, a good leader, probably even a good fighter, but she was not going to risk him in something that very well seemed like it might involve a pack of fools that had once been tied to the Star Cabal. Bad enough they were after the two crew. She didn't need him getting caught in the crossfire as well.

"Just... don't let your flame burn too brightly," he said, lightly, carefully tracing part of the scar that curved over her cheek. "The galaxy still undoubtedly needs you."

It made her smile a little more naturally, then she reached out to grab Modiri by the back of her shirt before the Mirialan woman could stagger away.

"Mo. We need our weapons and armor first. No running off."

* * *

Blizz blew up three door locks before he found someone who was awake; an Imperial officer, who looked at him in surprise.

"You're not one of the guards I heard talking earlier," he said after a moment. "Is this a jailbreak, perhaps?"

"Blizz look for friends, open all doors," the Jawa replied. "Make much chaos!"

The Imperial nodded, and got to his feet.

"I'm more of a scholar than a soldier, but I'd rather open all the doors and let out anyone who's inclined to leave," he said. "Talos Drellik, at your service."

Blizz was not about to turn down an ally, especially since he'd already had to dodge at least three guards; they hadn't noticed him, but clearly they also hadn't decided to just walk off the way the other pair had.

"Watch hall!" Blizz instructed. "Blizz blow up more locks!"

* * *

"Well, this is certainly... odd."

Odd was probably an understatement, all things considered. Toni had thought they'd get to this abandoned base, fight their way in, fight their way to whatever computer they could get at, and she would slice into it to find their people.

Instead, what she and Modiri had walked into was a bit more... complicated.

For one thing, there was a Sith. Well, the Sith wasn't too strange, it was the creature _with_ the Sith that was making her stare. She'd never seen anything like it, and she had seen _plenty_ of strange species in her jaunts across the galaxy.

There was also a Jedi, accompanied by a Republic solider who was giving everyone a narrow stare and holding his gun like he was ready to shoot anyone who _twitched_.

The third, paying absolutely no attention to the other two, was wrist deep in the door panel and guarded by a Wookie with a bowcaster. From what little Toni could see beyond the Wookie's bulk, she seemed to be a Cathar... and she also seemed to know what she was doing.

"I have a few questions," Modiri said after a minute. "What the fuck is that, who the fuck are all of you, and how the fuck did you beat us here? Also, do I need to shoot any of you assholes?"

"Modiri," Toni sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose carefully. "For once, perhaps you could just let me handle this?"

"...Okay. Tell me if I need to shoot something."

A less painful argument than usual, at least, though it was a bit worrying. Not that Toni had much room to talk; the pain had dulled to a manageable level, but it was still _there_.

"We all appear to be here for the same reason," the Sith offered after a minute, her voice trailing upwards in almost a question. "Someone thought it would be a _wise_ idea to kidnap my apprentices while I was doing some research work on Dromund Kaas. I've also misplaced my scholar."

"My Padawan as well," the Jedi added, a frown on her face.

"Yup, someone picked up one of my friends without warning too," came the call from the Cathar woman by the door. "She's gonna have fun living this shit down. Would not _believe_ the amount of hell I've had to go through to track her down!"

"A mutli-planet jaunt," the Wookie agreed. "Not fun."

"So then, I'm assuming there's a temporary truce here?" Toni asked.

"We have a common enemy," the Jedi woman replied, shrugging her shoulders lightly. "Whoever these kidnappers are, their reach is long. It's not exactly easy to take someone discreetly off Coruscant."

Modiri snorted, though she didn't actually say anything. The cackle from the Cathar by the door wasn't so subtle.

"Man, you Jedi are always a riot."

"Watch your mouth, smuggler," the Republic soldier snapped.

"Or what? Gonna drag me home to face justice? Please. Like you could even catch me."

Toni's lips twitched slightly; she liked this smart-mouthed smuggler.

"Can we please not do the whole 'Reps want to eat my face' thing today? I have the worst friggen headache imaginable," Modiri complained.

"Perhaps if you'd actually rested like I said you should, the kolto would have worked better," Toni replied.

"Yeah, well, shut up."

"Stellar retort."

"Enough," the Jedi ordered. "We're not going to get anywhere if we start arguing among ourselves."

"Perhaps we should start from the top, then," the Sith suggested, pushing her hood back to reveal a Cathar face. Surprising, considering Sith were some of the worst for Imperial prejudice, but Toni wasn't about to question someone acting reasonable. "We all agree that we're here to collect our people, and we won't start fighting with each other unnecessarily."

"Your monster didn't seem inclined towards that direction," the soldier snapped.

"Khem only eats Force users that aren't allies. Since we're currently allies, your Jedi isn't on the menu."

The smuggler snickered, and the strange creature the Sith had called Khem looked... well, admittedly, Toni couldn't really read that face. He'd certainly make one hell of an ally, that much was certain. He was taller than all of them by a good two feet, and though he had no fur, the cold weather didn't even seem to be _slightly_ bothering him. If his face could do more than scowl threateningly, she'd be impressed, and silently knew what creature would be haunting _her_ dreams for a while.

"Since calling each other 'hey you' is rather rude under the circumstances, my name is Mishori-"

"Wait, what?"

The smuggler pulled her hands out of the door innards and leaned around her Wookie companion, surprise on her furry face.

"Mishi?"

Mishori blinked, then stared.

"Ty?"

After a moment the smuggler—Ty?—just shook her head a little, then grinned.

"You know, I should be used to finding weird things in weird places by now, but this? This is new," she said. "Long time no see!"

Mishori gave a brilliant smile in return, and everything about her seemed to relax. Toni looked from one to the other, then at the Wookie, who just shrugged at her stare.

"Beg pardon?" she asked.

"Ah, not important right now. Anyways, I'm Twig, and this is Bowdaar."

"She just called you Ty," Modiri said with a small grunt.

"Yeah, well, she knows me by a different name. Twig's good enough for you guys."

And with that, Twig went back to pulling out wires and trying to open the door.

"My name is Lorelai Malay," the Jedi said after a speculative moment. "My companion is Lieutenant Iresso."

"I'm Toni. And this is Modiri. _All_ of you have had companions kidnapped?"

"Yup," Twig called, her tone full of moderate disgust. "Kind of a stupid thing to do really..."

"Told you this wasn't Star Cabal shit," Modiri muttered.

"You might be right," Toni murmured, frowning a little.

"Star Cabal?" Mishori asked.

"Long story, fairly pointless right now, all things considered," Toni replied. "Think of them as a defunct gang, if it helps."

Taking their people was pushing the limits of sensibility, though whoever had done the work had tried their hardest to kill the two women, short of actually trying to shoot them in the face. But taking Sith and Jedi students?

The Star Cabal had been stupid at points, but not _that_ stupid. So this wasn't purely Star Cabal. _Couldn't_ be purely Star Cabal, actually.

"While we're waiting for Twig to finish mauling the door, I have a question," Toni said slowly. "Who would have the gall to kidnap _your_ people?"

* * *

"Friendbug!" Blizz cheered.

"Ah. Blizz. We had thought it might be you," Vector said, getting swiftly to his feet. "We are glad to see a familiar face. So to speak."

Blizz nodded quickly; he still hadn't found Doctorfriend, but he had opened the cell of yet another person on a medbed. And now Vector, who would probably be a much better guard than the scholarman. Talso was actually at the computer at the far end of the hall, slicing into it much the way Mako had... though his results were coming far more slowly. No one sliced like Mako, after all.

"Come help find," Blizz said. "Not got many smallbombs left."

And there were more doors than bombs. He'd started to get worried about that, but Friendbug say things differently; he'd be able to tell where people were, and then Blizz could bomb the locks that had people behind them instead of _all_ the cells.

He'd had enough to do it with Mako's side of the cells, but using them meant using them up, and he wasn't entirely sure that shooting the locks off would actually do anything.

"Yes. We would very much like to return to where we belong."

Blizz bounced out of the room, and Vector followed, scanning the hallway and the remaining rooms before pointing out two.

"We believe our missing companions are in there. The rest of the cells do not appear to be occupied."

Blizz nodded, and quickly set up first one lockbomb, then the other. When they were opened, Torian and Dr. Lokoin joined them in the corridor... and presented Blizz with a problem he hadn't considered; how were all the bigfolk going to get through the halls? They couldn't fit in the air ducts like he could, and none of them were armed. And they _needed_ to get through the halls if they were going to wake up Raina.

"I have certainly had worse treatment in my day," Lokin said after a moment, a stern frown on his face. "I almost wish we had retained the services of SCORPIO... No one would have broken into the ship then..."

"The agent did not feel comfortable with SCORPIO's presence," Vector reminded Lokin.

Lokin snorted a little, but offered no further complaint.

"Ah, beg pardon, but if someone could wake up Xalek, that would be marvelous," Talos interjected from his place at the computer. "We're likely to have company soon, and even without his saber, he is very good at using the Force. We're probably going to need the help if we plan to consolidate the group and all that."

Lokin muttered something under his breath that made Vector smile slightly, though Blizz missed it, and decided not to ask. As the doctor moved into the one occupied cell, Blizz's holocom started to chirp.

"Wow, reinforcements galore," Mako said once he'd pulled it out and turned it on. "Whoever planned this didn't really think very far ahead."

"If not for your pet Jawa, we wouldn't even be out, so I'd say they thought well enough," Risha replied before Blizz could speak.

"Right. Anyways, I found the room with all our stuff. That's the good news. The bad news is that it's all back down on Hoth. A weapons room exists, but it's deeper in, and there's a lot of people between us and it."

"Don't need much," Torian muttered. "Piece of pipe would work just as well."

"For you and Vector maybe, but the rest of us aren't close-combat fighters. Or... well.."

Mako glanced over her shoulder, likely at Risha.

"I fight dirty if I have to, but I don't have anything that would make that sort of fight winnable," the other woman said, though she remained out of sight of the holocam. "Can't say about the girls on the bed, but it's probably best to not risk our heads."

"Need to get to you first," Torian pointed out.

"We will undoubtedly have chances to acquire blasters on the way over," Vector said quietly, his eyes focused on the hallway. "Quite shortly, we suspect."

"Just as soon as your friend wakes up Xalek, we'll have a powerful Sith apprentice to help us too~" Drellik said cheerfully. "I'm sure we'll all meet up in no time."

* * *

"Modiri, we need at least _one_ of them left alive to question," Toni said with a sigh.

"No we don't."

"I think I'm with her," Twig said, pointing briefly at the Mirialan who was sluggishly reloading her blasters with new energy clips. "I mean, there's probably gonna be more wherever we find our friends, too."

"Maybe, but I still would like to actually have more than one thread of information to pull on."

Modiri just snorted a little, but both Mishori and Lorelai were nodding. It was certainly the _oddest_ group she'd allied herself with, but strangely, they all seemed to work well enough together. It helped that the Sith wasn't quite as... mad as some of the others she'd worked with before. And the Jedi wasn't preaching about the power of the Force.

And really, none of them had any answers yet; the only common factor between all of them had been dealing with the Exchange in some form. This was too well-planned for the brutish maneuvering of the Exchange, but not as well-executed as one would expect for the remnants of the Star Cabal.

Sometimes, she regretted destroying the Black Codex instead of downloading it. But no, with that much trouble at her fingertips, she would have been tempted to use it. Better that it was destroyed, and the connections scattered...

"Were any of them carrying anything of use?" she asked.

"This guy had a keycard," Twig volunteered, holding up a slim, green rectangle between two fingers. "Doesn't say what it's for, but I bet if we try it on everything in here, we'll find out!"

"Yes, and probably set off every alarm in the place," Mishori said with a small frown, even as she moved forward and plucked the card from the other Cathar woman's fingers.

"Hey, considering how many of us there are, that's hardly going to cause problems."

"Not down here, no, but what if the alarms connect to somewhere else?" Toni asked pointedly. "There's a base hidden on the second moon, and I wouldn't be at all shocked if-"

"There's _what?_ "

Toni blinked as all eyes focused on her. Modiri reacted to the shouts by reflexively pointing her blasters at the nearest people until Toni put a hand on one arm and pressed down firmly. The guns lowered... but slowly.

"Yes, there's a base on the second moon, and if I miss my guess, that's likely where we're headed."

"Why didn't you _lead_ with that?" Twig asked in disgust. "Could've gone back tot he spaceport-"

"Because these people are a _clever_ sort of stupid, and I expect we might just need that keycard to get _to_ the base," Toni interrupted. "Besides which, what would you prefer; the Empire and Republic wondering why several ships are clustered around the moon of a planet that no one actually _wants_ , or the ability to take a single shuttle and not bring more attention than necessarily required?"

"...she has a point," Bowdaar said in his native language.

Twig just grumbled, and took the keycard back from Mishori.

"We need to find a terminal somewhere," Lorelai said after a moment. "It would be helpful to have a map of this place."

"True," Toni nodded a little. "But first, I think we're about to have some more company..."

* * *

"Here," Torian said, handing blasters to Mako and Risha. "Liberated these."

It was a good thing Mako was in the system; as they'd rushed through corridors, she'd taken down the cameras that would have show up in the monitoring room, and they didn't have to deal with more than a few people at a time. A dozen in all, and Xalek had proven to be just as useful as Talos had said; the Kaleesh was scary looking, and heavily annoyed. That annoyance had apparently fueled the power he held as a Sith, and most of the destruction they had left behind was his doing.

He was also _exceptionally_ taciturn, which made him the direct opposite of Talos.

Vector watched both of them with caution; he hadn't exactly had pleasant experiences with past Sith or their apprentices, and the fact that they were both apparently connected to a Darth was just... well, it was unnerving, to say the least. It was good to be among familiar allies, even as Lokin moved into the rooms Blizz indicated to turn off the medical beds.

"Not bad quality," Risha said, inspecting the blaster thoughtfully. "Whoever they are, they have some good armaments... Reminds me of some of the stuff Twig pulled off the Exchange back on Nar Shadda..."

"Yeah, they did have some of the better stuff, but they were a pain," Mako agreed.

"It's the Exchange," Torian shrugged. "Are they ever not?"

Both ladies snorted in agreement, and Mako turned back to the computer after a minute.

"So, I can trigger alarms all over the base now that I've worked my way deeper into the system, but it won't take them long to figure out that something's going wrong. And we need at least two keycard codes to get into the shuttle bay upstairs, let alone operate the shuttle," she said.

"Beg pardon, but did you manage to figure out where we are?" Talos asked politely. "Your Jawa friend wasn't very... clear."

"Blizz try!" came the disgruntled protest.

Vector reached down and lightly patted the Jawa on the head. He was used to talking with him, but had to admit that Blizz's syntax could get rather confusing.

"Yeah, about that... We're on one of the moons."

If a blink could have a collective sound, it would have been in that moment. Mako just shrugged at the silence, not looking away from the terminal screen.

"Yeah, I know. But we are. Whoever these people are, they have money, and stealth, and stars only know what else."

"We need to trash the computer system," Risha said after a minute. "Can you do that?"

"Not from this terminal, no. I'd have to find the main hub, and personally I'd rather just get off this rock; Mo and Toni are going to show up and just break it to pieces if we don't meet them somewhere."

"Yes, I'm sure Lord Tinu-"

Xalek cleared his throat in a pointed manner, and Talos coughed slightly.

"That is to say, Darth Imperious will be quite willing to express her severe displeasure at the kidnappings as well. I haven't seen her lose her temper before, but she was made a-"

"Lieutenant. Perhaps it would be best to be silent."

Vector eyed Xalek with care as the Imperial did as suggested, looking... not _scared_ , but sufficiently wary at the low-viced comment from the Sith apprentice. Apparently there was something about this Darth Imperious that Xalek was disinclined to be open about.

He hoped that Toni and Modiri wouldn't have troubles with her. Toni was deft at avoiding dangers, but Modiri... especially Modiri in a temper...

"I've tried to bounce a comm signal down to Hoth, but we apparently need a code for that too," Mako said in moderate disgust. Then, "...and we'd better get ready because there's several people coming our way."

* * *

"How's it coming?"

"Not quickly," Toni replied, not bothering to glance up at Lorelai. "I'll give them credit for their levels of encryption; they're good enough to be annoying, if not quite good enough to stop me."

Slicing was a skill she had sort of... fallen into. Much like the acting required of her original job as Imperial Intelligence, she had found herself something of a natural at it, and found it quite enjoyable in the long run. She was no Mako, or SCORPIO, but she could certainly hold her own.

"I've got a workable map for both here and the lunar base downloading; the trick is keeping the periodic firewall sweeps from disrupting the download from an outside source. Learned anything new yet?"

"Your friend has a temper," Lorelai replied dryly.

"Don't you?"

"There is no emotion, there is peace," was the serene reply.

Toni rolled her eyes, and tapped the keys quickly, delving through another layer of security. Jedi sanctimonious nonsense was what had gotten Modiri branded as a wanted figure with the Republic.

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion," Mishori countered, though she didn't sound confrontational about it. More like... testing, Toni decided.

"Passions are too easily swayed," Lorelai sad, turning away from the screen. "Passion without focus causes destruction."

"Peace becomes apathy if you do nothing at all," was the quiet retort.

"Uh, guys?" Twig said pointedly. "Really not the time for a Jedi versus Sith philosophical debate. Got people to rescue and all that. Bite each other on your own time, kay?"

Bowie huffed a laugh, and Mishori made a sound that could have been amusement.

"You really haven't changed..."

"Nah, I've changed. I just kept that wonderful sense of humor we all have~"

"You mean the one that always got you into trouble?"

Now Twig snickered.

"I can talk my way out of any trouble I get into. Or shoot if they have no sense of humor at all."

"Not a _whit_ of difference from when we were children," Mishori said with a wry tone to her voice. "You're just taller now."

Twig snickered again, and Toni didn't have to look to envision the shrug. It made her wonder at their relationship, former or otherwise, but ultimately, Twig was actually correct; they didn't much have the time to spend on pointless debates or picking at one another.

A file caught her attention, and she shuffled it into the queue of things she was pulling to her spare datapad; things she wasn't intending to decrypt here. While they might not prove useful _here_ , they could very well give her something to work on while taking _actual_ downtime.

Like, say, to a planet where nothing was one fire, and they could actually relax for a while. Not Dromund Kaas, but there had to be other Imperial planets that weren't awash in fighting and had places where relaxation was plausible.

The first datapd pinged, and Toni disconnected it from the system, pulling up the map of their current base with a touch of a key.

"Mess hall, dormitories, captain's quarters, contraband...hm. Contraband should have something interesting in it," she murmured. "Detention facilities... ah. Shuttle bay. All the way at the back. Naturally."

"Where else _would_ it be?" Twig asked, her tone all practicality. "I mean, you're lookin at smuggler's paradise here. Let's go play in contraband!"

"Won't your friend be annoyed?" Mishori asked.

"What, Risha? Hell, she might, but again, she's not living this shit down. I told her it was a trap. She decided to go anyways, and not take me!"

"We have to bypass contraband anyways, to get to the shuttle bay," Toni pointed out, projecting the map over the datapad. "It will go even better when I trigger a partial lockdown that will close off half the base and prevent us from having to fight through reinforcements."

"You can do that? Sure you don't wanna come work with me?"

Toni chuckled a little, and shook her head.

"I don't work for anyone but myself, and I'd like the keep it that way."

"Eh," Twig shrugged. "Fair enough. So. Got anything else?"

"We'll have to break into the captain's quarters; the keycard we have lets us into the bay, but it won't let us pilot the shuttle; we either need a different card, or the captain's pass. Volunteers?"

"I'll do it," Mishori said, pretty face grim. "Someone ought to learn that antagonizing a Sith is a _very_ unwise idea."

"All right. Modiri, are you up for providing long-range backup for Mishori?"

The Mirialan woman nodded.

"Then here's what we'll do..."

* * *

A trio of Force users, regardless of what _side_ of the Force they used, were devastating to the personnel on the station. By all technical rights, Raina ought to have been one as well, but the ensign was just as glad to be holding a blaster and aiming down the hall at a fleeing guard as opposed to being able to use the Force to throw the hapless people into walls. Shooting him in the back wasn't exactly honorable, but neither was being blown off her speeder and kidnapped.

"Now _this_ is a jalibreak," Talos said with unfeigned glee. "I really with have to remember every detail of this for Darth Imperious."

"Mishi's going to be mad enough, Talos," Ashara said, straightening from her defensive crouch. "I really don't think she's going to _want_ a blow-by-blow account of how we all got suckered."

Xalek made a faintly disapproving sound and the Togruta woman glared at him.

"We did and you know it, Xalek," she huffed.

"Hey, I'm pretty sure we _all_ got suckered," Risha put in as she moved forward to go through the pockets of their downed foes. "I'm going to get mocked for _months_."

"Not alone there," Torian muttered.

"We think Modiri will yell at everyone first, and _then_ make jokes," Vector put in with a small smile.

"If the agent doesn't make a scathing comment or two, I will be surprised," Lokin said. "But to find out, we must first get _back_ to them. Mako?"

"There was a shuttle in the bay when I looked through the cameras back at the terminal. But, given that Blizz overheard some of them talking about needing specific keycards, we're going to need to keep an eye out for those."

"Where are we on the map?" Raina asked.

Blizz pulled out his datapad and handed it to her, and she quickly placed their location. Still quite a ways away from the elevator that would take them up to the shuttle bay, and no doubt news of the jailbreak was going to spread now that Mako wasn't shutting down the cameras any longer.

"If it wasn't more sensible to stick together, I'd say we split up and some of us go after that server hub," Ashara said, pointing to the room in question. "There's got to be _something_ good in there."

"We agree, but it does not seem like a wise option at the moment," Vector said.

"It's in the wrong direction, for one thing," Mako said a little glumly. Then brightened slightly. "But I think if we can get to this guard room here, we might be able to find all the pieces we need to get back down to Hoth."

That was certainly incentive for the group; Raina noticed that even the two Sith apprentices seemed inclined to go along with the idea, though Xalek cast a thoughtful look at the hallway behind them, as if judging the distance.

"Mishi will eat you," Ashara said casually.

"...this, I cannot deny."

"Is your master so scary?" Raina asked curiously as they started up the hall at as quick a walk as everyone could accommodate.

"What, Mishi?" Ashara giggled a little. "No, not really. But she takes her responsibility to us pretty seriously. So we're all going to get yelled at, at the very least."

"It's not so bad," Drellik said over his shoulder, sounding absurdly cheerful, which just seemed to be his natural attitude. "We're all currently alive and uninjured. Imagine how much worse it would be if we were hurt."

Ashara shuddered a little, and Raina tried not to laugh; clearly not a typical Sith lord, even more clearly, someone who had a temperament similar to Toni. Because she knew that Toni, flanked by Modiri, was definitely going to wreak havoc on this place, and whatever other base it connected to back down on Hoth.

And apparently would be getting backup in the form of...

"So, what does your friend Twig do?" Mako asked.

"Starship captain stuff," Risha replied, the answer to careless it was plainly rehearsed. "This is gonna get brought up for _months_."

A starship captain and a Sith. Plus one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy, and a free agent formerly of Imperial Intelligence.

"I could _almost_ feel sorry for the people who thought this was a good idea," Raina said.

"...nah," Torian said after a thoughtful moment.

"Well, I did say 'almost.'"

* * *

"So, did the captain have anything of use for us besides the pass?" Toni asked as the two groups reunited in the shuttle bay.

"The captain," Mishori said, handing the pass to Twig who bounded up the ramp and into the shuttle, "was part of the Exchange."

"Told you," Modiri said, though it lacked her usual energy.

"Yes, Modiri, I didn't say it wasn't entirely Star Cabal. This sort of planning and practice isn't typical of the Exchange, however..."

"Still the Exchange is the common enemy we all have dealt with," Lorelai said, as they all filed up the ramp and into the shuttle. "They are everywhere, it seems."

Toni nodded, frowning.

"What about you, did you find much of interest in contraband?" Mishori asked, settling into a seat; Khem remained standing, still glaring at all of them. "And, ah... what are those?"

"Oh yeah~ I'm grabbing some of it on the way back," Twig said with a grin over her shoulder as she slid the keycard into its designated slot and started the ship.

"We found the gear of our companions," Toni said after a moment. "Weapons and armor. Though some of them seemed a bit... confused about who they had."

Why else would Vector's box have held Torian's armor as well as his own?

"I didn't know what might belong to your apprentices, or scholar, and it didn't seem entirely wise to overburden ourselves," Toni shrugged slightly, then passed over what she _had_ grabbed. "I took a guess about the sabers and guns, but we had to leave the armor and clothing behind."

"Weapons are probably well enough," Mishori said after a moment, accepting the sabers carefully. "Ashara and Xalek can hold their own without them, of course, but..."

"Better to have a weapon and not need it, then need it and not have it," Toni supplied.

"Yes."

Toni refused to admit how much sitting down was a relief; the physical pain of standing had dulled, but it was constant, and drained her more than she wanted to admit; she was starting to wonder if Mo's exhausted honesty wasn't the more apt approach to all of this.

"Be about fifteen minutes," Twig said as the shuttle lifted off. "Already got an auto-pilot setting that'll take us right in. Didja get anything useful about the moonbase?"

"Moderately," Toni replied, pulling out her datapad again. "They'll be able to undo the partial lockdown by the time we get back, but by that point, I'm quite sure we'll have everyone and anything they try we can flatten with overwhelming force as needed."

Lorelai looked briefly disapproving, but then a subtle grimness slipped into the expression of the redheaded woman.

"If they're smart, they'll clear out of there, and destroy everything they had," she said.

"They can try," and Toni smiled slyly.

"Do we even wanna know?" Twig asked.

Toni's smile widened slightly, and she knew it took on a malicious sort of curve; if Saganu's forces didn't have that place locked down tight by the time she got back, she would eat her favorite boots.

"...never mind," the smuggler said after a tense moment.

"In any case, we'll end up here, in the shuttle bay. This corridor will take use to an elevator; one floor down is the detention wings; males here, females here. Knowing my people, they've probably already tried a jailbreak of some sort..."

* * *

"This is not a good place to be stuck," Nadia said worriedly, looking around the small room, even as she nursed a blaster burn on one arm.

"Not really," Risha said with a faint scowl, peering around the doorframe carefully. "I think we riled them up..."

"You _think_?" Torian said a little scathingly.

Risha turned her sour look on him, but whatever sharp comment she might have made was curtailed at Lokin's slight but pointed cough.

Though they had made strides towards the shuttle bay, they had all learned very quickly that it was one thing to fight in layers of armor and clothing, and another entirely to be wearing only one thin layer. The Force users, without their sabers, couldn't deflect incoming bolts, and what kolto and medpacks Blizz had carried had been rapidly used up as they'd dealt with ambushes in cross-corridors that had left burns and scorch marks on arms and legs.

It was only because the enemy wasn't actively trying to kill them that they'd gotten this far, and everyone was well aware of it.

"Fighting each other isn't going to help anyone," Vector said, his voice quiet and calm.

"Mako, can you use Blizz's datapad to get into the system again?" Ashara asked.

"Not without a physical terminal," Mako said with a grimace. "It's all an enclosed system, and it would instantly sever the eternal link."

"Well, we can't stay _here_ , that's for certain," Drellik said after a moment. His cheer had dimmed with every new injury, concern overcoming optimism. "All they'd need to do is-"

" _Don't_ give them ideas," Xalek said forcefully.

"Ah... yes..."

"What I wouldn't give for some-"

Risha's words died as an alarm began blaring; it wasn't the one that had been going off since their escape had become common knowledge, and she risked another look out the door.

"...they're looking towards the bay," she reported. "If this is reinforcements for them..."

There were a few groans; no one wanted to get recaptured, and _all_ of them knew that it would just take one lucky shot. Someone with the brains to use a gas grenade, or even several stun grenades...

Blizz's holocom chirped, and the little Jawa jumped. Then, as he activated it, a thread of relief curled through the air.

"Bluefriend!"

* * *

"Hey, we got in, stop glaring at me!" Twig said, as she ducked behind a stack of crates.

"You set off _every_ alarm, Ty, I think I'm allowed to be annoyed," Mishori retorted, deflecting several blaster bolts with her saber.

"If it gets these people to cluster in where we can do some real damage, I'm not going to complain," Toni said, pulling out her holocom. "I didn't see Blizz's things in contraband, so let's see if this works..."

Modiri was just laying down shot after shot, not interested in talking. Lorelai joined Mishori in bolt deflection as Toni punched in Blizz's frequency.

The holocom flared to life, and relief raced through her, briefly making her forget just how much she hurt, how _tired_ she was, and how much she wanted to hurt someone else.

"Bluefriend!"

"Good, just as I'd thought," and she allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction. "Blizz, where are you right now?"

"With other bigfriends! All out, all stuck."

Toni pulled out her datapad, and zeroed in on Blizz's com signal, then nodded.

"You're not far. Let us finish clearing out the shuttle bay, and we'll come get you. Are you all all right?"

"Could use kolto and medpacks," Torian said, though he didn't join Blizz in the visual feed. "Not dying, but not uninjured."

"...be glad you're telling that to me, and not Modiri," Toni said dryly, glancing over at her friend. "Also, how many people is 'all bigfriends'?"

"We have encountered a pair of Sith apprentices and one Jedi Padawan," and Vector's voice, so calm and steady, soothed the cold anger that she had kept locked into a tight ball in her chest. "Along with one Imperial officer, and the companion of a starship captain."

Toni did a mental checklist, then smirked, just slightly.

"Right. We'll get to your shortly. I'd say 'sit tight', but..."

"We're going to be picked on enough," came an unfamiliar, female voice. "We're coming to you."

"That's about what I thought. Just don't take unnecessary risks. Toni out."

She closed the connection, and pulled her rifle over her shoulder with a wince; oh, it _hurt_ to hold the heavy weapon, but it was the one she knew best, and she wasn't entirely sure her arms would be any happier throwing grenades.

"As assumed, they've joined forces and staged their own jailbreak, no doubt with Blizz as the catalyst," she said as she ducked behind a pile of barrels. "They're not far, and our arrival plainly distracted their opposition."

"See?" Twig grinned at the other Cathar woman. "Setting off all the alarms worked really well."

Mishori just snorted, and cast a shock of purple lightning at the enemy gathered at the far end of the bay. Between that and Modiri's missile salvo, people went flying in several directions.

"Gloat later," Lorelai advised. "We still have to get these people to move aside before we can get to our own."

Toni glanced around the bay; there were at least three different entrances. One they needed to get through that was the fastest way to their people. Two others...

"Twig, you and I will stay here; someone's got to watch those doors," she said after a quick moment of thought.

As much as she wanted, _needed_ , to see her friends, to assure herself that no one was in danger of expiring, losing their way out wouldn't be even slightly helpful. As _cathartic_ as it would be to rain destruction throughout the place, the fact remain that they _were_ on a moonbase, and any cracking of an exterior shield would lead to loss of atmosphere... not to mention what might happen to Hoth if they destroyed the second moon.

"Our people aren't far," she continued, unhooking her supply pouch and datapad, passing them over—after a moment of hesitation—to Lt. Iresso. "Hell, with us as a distraction, they're probably getting closer every minute, so get moving!"

Modiri was already on the move, having swung out of cover before the latest salvo had a chance to really fade out. Lorelai, Mishori, and their companions followed, while Twig and Bowdaar positioned themselves with Toni to cover the shuttles.

"Though you were worried about Mishi and the Jedi trying to eat each other," Twig commented as the larger group vanished through the door.

"This close to the goal, I'm fairly sure they'll behave," Toni replied, swapping out a depleted energy cell and realigning herself in cover. "If nothing else, they'll have to keep up with Modiri, who's currently very single-minded."

"She's gonna drop like durasteel when this is all over, huh?"

"Oh, probably. She can be a bit of a twit like that. But she needs to see them, and assure herself that everyone she cares about is in one piece. _Then_ she can fall over and actually rest."

Toni adjusted the angle of her rifle slightly as the doors at the far end opened.

"Let's see how much you like it when your prey fights _back_."

* * *

If asked, Modiri might have called it tunnel-vision, but it was more likely she just would have growled at someone asking stupid questions. She ached, she was _still_ pissed all to hell, and a tiny part of her knew that she was running out of steam. But like fuck she was going to _not_ see her people, her family, and make sure they weren't hurt.

 _Then_ she'd figure out how to make this place explode into a million pieces, outside vacuum and other consequences be damned.

"According to the map, we just have to get past this junction, and they should be right around the corner," Lorelai was saying. "They're coming in our direction like Toni said, but..."

The hail of blaster fire filled in where Lorelai faded out.

Slowly, Modiri filled in silently, sluggishness fading as anger and adrenaline kicked in. Their people were under fire just as much as they were.

* * *

"Ashara! Xalek!"

"Nadia!"

Three heads snapped up, and over the defensive shields of the people before them came light sabers. Heads of the opposition turned as they were hit from the other side in a hail of blaster fire and Force powers, giving the three in question time to get their own sabers and rejoin the fray. In short order, they went from being boxed in on both sides, to being able to join the small group of rescuers.

Torian almost immediately got punched by Modiri, which made him grin. Mako laughed and hugged the Mirialan woman in relief, which Modiri accepted briefly; Torian slung his arm around Mo's shoulder,helping her to stay up as much as reassuring her, while Blizz bounced at her feet, trying to tell her everything that had happened since the cave-in.

Nadia bowed before her master, who smiled and rested a hand on the other woman's shoulder. Ashara was much less reserved and practically tackled Mishori, despite the lightning that still crackled over her arms. Mishori laughed, hugged her back, then patted Xalek on the arm, and Drellik on the shoulder once the lightning had faded into wisps of nothing.

"Where's Toni?" Raina asked, glancing around worriedly.

"Holding our escape with Twig and Bowdaar," Lt. Iresso said, handing Toni's bag of supplies to Lokin, who immediately started putting them to use on the various blaster wounds they had acquired. "Good thing there's two shuttles..."

"Yes," Lorelai nodded a little. "And we should get back to them quickly, before we have to fight further."

"I relish the challenge," Xalek said. Then winced as Mishori turned and smacked him on the arm. It escaped no one that she'd smacked a blaster burn, and Raina wondered if that had been to get his attention or because she could. Sith were always... a bit strange.

"Don't _even_ start," Mishori scolded. "The sooner we get back to Hoth, the better. Now let's _go_."

* * *

"Risha~ Nice ta see ya! How ya been?"

Risha just sighed, shaking her head a little as she approached her friend.

"So, how much is this going to cost me?" she asked wryly.

Twig grinned, and Bowdaar laughed a little.

"I dunno, how much should your rescue be worth to ya?~"

Toni stifled a pained smile as she got to her feet, trying to ignore the way everything was swaying a little. If she was feeling this bad, she didn't even want to _guess_ how Modiri was doing... though if the way her friend was listing was any indication—leaning on Torian for support though Toni knew Modiri would vehemently deny it if questioned—she was just waiting for a chance to sit down before she passed out.

She didn't abandon dignity _completely_ when she saw her people, but that tight ball of fury relaxed as relief swept in. She kept her feet, if only just, until all three stood before her. Raina looked embarrassed, while Lokin looked somewhere between tired and annoyed. Vector looked somewhere between pleased to see her and worried about her, something she waved off gently before he could start to fuss.

"We can do a debrief back on the ship," she said after a moment, reaching out to clasp hands with all of them briefly, unwilling to show further vulnerability while surrounded by so many unknowns. "Welcome back."

"Are we ever going to live this down?" Raina asked, her tone sheepish.

Toni chuckled a little.

"From me? Give it a few months. Modiri? Probably never. Now. Hold on a minute while I figure out who's going down on which shuttle."

It was a fair distraction; putting Sith and Jedi on the same shuttle, especially now that they had their apprentices back, seemed like a bad idea. The Kaleesh especially looked like he might be spoiling for a fight, despite having just been rescued, and was throwing thinly veiled glances of hostility at Lorelai and her Padawan.

After a moment, Toni nodded a little.

"Twig, since you and Mishori seem to get along without fuss, you two take that shuttle. The rest of us can fit," barely, "into the other one."

"Did you get a second keycard?" Mako asked.

In response, Toni pointed to the dead body halfway across the room that had been heavily armored and obnoxious about it.

"Base captains make for good target practice," she said with a thin smile. "And carry things on their person that they often shouldn't."

There were snickers from several people, and they started filing onto the different shuttles.

"Modiri's likely to pass out once she sits down," Toni said quietly, glancing pointedly at Lokin. "She's been running on rage and fumes for the past hour, and she was pulled out of the cave-in before that. If you could check to make sure she hasn't too badly reinjured anything..."

She passed over her medical scanner and Lokin sighed a little, but nodded.

"No doubt what you _both_ need is several hours worth of rest. At least I might be able to enforce that with one of you," he grumbled a little.

Toni laughed softly as he walked past her, into the shuttle.

"Hey, Toni?"

"Mmm?" Toni blinked and glanced at Mako.

"There's got to be _something_ in their files, right? Should we..."

"Probably, but right now I think Modiri's mood would be best served if we left before she got up the energy to try and plant explosives," Toni said dryly. "If she's not inclined to murder everything after she's recovered, I'll see about seconding your services and we can see what we can dig up."

Mako nodded after a moment, and then headed into the shuttle as well.

"You _are_ hurt," Vector said softly as Toni took one more glance around the room.

"I'll recover. I'm not dead, which was a concern there for a bit," and she smiled reassuringly at him. "Come on. Let's get back to Hoth before Saganu tries to send up a party of his own. I expect you'll feel better in your own clothing."

"And you still need to talk to the aristocre."

Trust him to pick up on that fact. Toni sighed a little, shrugging as she triggered the hatch closure, and moved for the pilot's seat.

Modiri, as Toni had thought, had sat down, and was now well and truly out of it; she was using Torian for a pillow while Lokin was checking her over with the med-scanner. Nadia wasn't _quite_ clinging to Lorelai, but she was leaned against her master as well, albeit still wide awake. Iresso looked uncomfortable, stuck in a shuttle with so many Imperials, but at least now he didn't look quite like he wanted to shoot all of them. Mako and Blizz were sitting together, and Toni passed the secondary datapad to Mako with a faint smile.

"I swiped some files from the main base. I'm betting you can decrypt them faster than I could. Have fun."

* * *

"This is... unusual," Saganua said after a moment.

Toni grinned a little, and lightly shrugged, stifling a wince.

"You're telling me. But we all worked quite well in a pinch, and they all ought to have their gear back before they leave for their ships."

He nodded, watching in what Toni thought was moderate surprise when the Sith and Jedi treated each other with a modicum of respect as they collected the rest of their gear out of contraband. After a moment, he shook his head and turned to her, briefly formal again.

"We have full control of this base, and have started to go through their files. Reaching the computer system on the moon is difficult, but not impossible. It would go faster, I expect, with some help."

"As long as we don't have to go back _up_ to the base, I'm happy to lend my own skills to the task," she replied. "And I'm sure the ensign will help. If we need more, I'll ask Mako, but for the moment, I think Modiri and her team would be better suited to resting up on their ship. With, perhaps, some extra guards on the doors at the station."

He nodded grimly.

"There had been several reports of demotions and at least one execution over what happened," he said quietly. "I expect once your Sith friend there gets involved, reparations will be... worse."

Toni thought about it, then half-shrugged lightly.

"Mishori seems the practical sort, and her people weren't taken from the station. As long as issues were addressed, and the people watching the ships are more... _careful_ , I don't see the need for further issues to be raised."

And quite frankly, she was tired of shooting people. Her own anger was snuffed, ash thanks to the reassurance of her people only being lightly injured by their escape attempt, and she was running out of the desire to do more than sleep.

"...you should rest now, Agent," Vector said quietly from where he stood at her shoulder. "You are not yet recovered from your own injuring."

"He is correct..." Saganu said after a moment.

"I see having both of you in the same room to fuss at me will give me fewer options," she said with a tiny, tired smile. "Someone will need to... escort Lokin back to the ship..."

"We will take care of it," Saganu said, putting a light hand on her shoulder. "And make sure that your ship is under a proper guard until you return to it."

Since there wasn't much else to do in the moment—Raina had gone off to get some food after changing back into her Hoth uniform, and everyone else seemed to be sorting themselves out without interference—Toni allowed them to nudge her towards the medical wing of the Hoth base.

* * *

"So it was mostly Exchange, and some of the members of what was left of the Cabal," Raina said, legs crossed under her as she reported to Toni.

"That certainly explains why it was so... ham-fisted," Toni said with a faint frown. "But why?"

"They were collecting unique individuals for some reason," Raina shrugged a little. "The files weren't clear why, but they seemed to think that gathering as many uniquely gifted people in one place as possible seemed like a wise thought."

" _That_ is almost Star Cabal," Vector put in. "We are unsure as to our role, however..."

"You're the Dawn Herald for your nest," Toni replied. "You have a unique perspective."

"And they didn't really know who was who in the groups. The notes suggested that just grabbing everyone and sorting them out later would work... but the only way that we could _get_ grabbed in safety was if our leaders were... ah..."

Toni smiled thinly.

"Dead. To bad for them that they failed. More proof that this was majority Exchange. Anyone hired by the Cabal as it was would have ensured that we were before leaving the area. Not to mention prevented any potential rescue."

"We are glad they were not as competent."

"You're not the only one," Saganu said from where he was reading through a handful of files of his own. "They certainly set the White Maw up to be their stalking horse quite effectively. If we were not quite so meticulous..."

"Star Cabal people are quite effective, even disconnected and scattered. Some of this was revenge, some of it was collection for whatever the end goal might have been," Toni shook her head a little. "The important part is that now we have their bases, their toys, and they don't. Perhaps this will make them think hard on how much they wish to make an enemy of Modiri."

"Not you?"

Toni smiled thinly, coldly.

"Oh, I am quite prepared to hunt every last one of them down if that's what's required. They had best hope it isn't."

Vector nodded slightly, accepting; after a moment, Saganu did too, and Raina's expression suggested that she was inclined to _help_ if it became necessary. It made Toni's smile soften, warm slightly.

"Seeing as we've dealt with pirates and extra problems, I think that's all I was needed for," Raina said, getting off the spare medbed. "I'm going to join Dr. Lokin on the ship, and we'll make sure everything is the way it ought to be, sir!"

"Take an escort this time," Saganu said with a dry, teasing smile.

Toni grinned outright now as Raina blushed a little and nodded, then saluted and left. Quiet reigned in the medroom for a moment, somehow both awkward and yet comfortable.

"Are all your... trials so difficult?" Saganu asked finally.

"Honestly? This was probably one of the easier issues we've dealt with," Toni replied smiling dryly. "Everything came to a head quickly after the events on Corellia... That we've had even a few weeks of time to decompress is a bit impressive."

"We think perhaps you are being overly pessimistic," Vector said quietly.

She reached over and gave him a gentle push.

"If you're not going to be helpful, shoo," she said fondly.

He smiled faintly, and leaned back in his chair, clearly not intending to go anywhere. Toni shook her head a little, then looked back at Saganu.

"I was Imperial Intelligence, Saganu," she said gently. "Being a free agent doesn't make this any less dangerous. And now you have a greater responsibility here..."

She had half-hoped that maybe she could bring him with her. There was room on the ship, and he was a clever man... but he was needed here, by their people, not just to keep an eye on both sides as the war heated up, but because Hoth was _their_ world as much as it was anyone's.

"I would come with you if I could," he admitted, reaching out and lightly taking her hand. "To watch as your flame burns brightly through the stars, as you address right and wrong and commit to your courses... To share your nights as well as your days..."

She curled her fingers around his, quiet for a moment, then glanced briefly at Vector. After a moment he nodded, and rose, leaving to stand guard at the door to the room; far enough away to be considered out of earshot, but close enough to intervene if it became necessary.

"Saganu, when you adopted me into the Miurani line... Did you do that because you thought you wouldn't survive the attack on the ship? You recorded that message before you left the base..."

Saganu was quiet for a moment, then left his chair to sit on her bed. Close enough now to feel more than the warmth of his hand, she felt little shame in leaning against him.

"In part, I thought that perhaps I wouldn't survive, yes, and I wanted... some way of making you part of my line before that inevitability came to pass," he said after several moments. "When I _did_ survive, thanks in no small part to you and Modiri, I admit, I found myself at something of a loss... To travel with you, or to have you remain... were it possible..."

She smiled a little, sadly, gently.

"I can no more make myself comfortable in your base as you could on my ship, I expect," She replied quietly. "I need to be... out there. And you are a necessary part of how things work here on Hoth. Not... that it means we are destined to remain apart. Unless you'd rather-"

Saganu made a brief motion with one hand, cutting her off without words. That same hand smoothed back dark blue hair, stroking delicately over her cheek, and she could feel the slight tremble of his fingertips.

"My Red Flame," he said softly. "I would no more extinguish you from my life than I would my career in the military. Merit adoptive was meant as a... placeholder, so to speak. For you to travel the stars and for us to see if more than affection could grow. I find my affection, my admiration, has not waned. They have grown... and I would accept danger to be one of the people you defend so strongly."

Kind words. Warm and soft ones, words that only Saganu could offer. Words, and a heart that would have to be treated gently. She had come to see what _might_ be possible, had resigned herself—somewhere inside, down deep where it didn't have to be acknowledged—that perhaps it had been only a pacing fancy, that both of them would have changed enough that turning away might be easy.

It was strange to find that turning away wasn't necessary. But it threw her just enough that she fell back into a defensive sort of humor, unable to really believe that she could so easily gain what she had hoped for.

"Why Saganu, that almost sounded like a proposal..."

Just enough of a lilt, a teasing note that would allow him to rescind or alter the words if he so desired. But when she glanced up at him and saw the warm smile, she found her words drying up.

"Would it be so bad if it was?"

Toni was quiet, and looked down at her lap; new, tiny scars on her fingers, curled so comfortably in Saganu's. Her free hand curled loosely, and she found herself wishing she could call Vector over to sit on her other side, to help her stay steady.

"It seems unfair to you," she said after a long moment. "To have a wife who only visits sporadically here and there, when she's certain that it's safe..."

To be another Phi-ton, watching the sky endlessly for her return. _Him_ she had to release... she would, just as soon as she had recovered enough to return to Voss.

Saganu freed his hand from hers, but before she could shift position, he had it around her shoulders, and was holding her with a firm sort of gentility.

"This is my station, and my home," he said quietly. "I would not be leaving Hoth for Csilla in any case, and any I married would have to visit me. Better to wed one I find grace and fire in than find a political match I could not stand. My line is not so dependent on me that your inclusion would cause much strife."

Toni gave him an arch look; she knew upper echelon politics, even if her family had never been involved in them. Chiss politics were of a much _grander_ scale than those of the Sith Empire, even. Saganu smiled after a moment, and touched his lips lightly to her temple.

"Are you not a strength in your own right? Even loosed from Imperial Intelligence, your name is whispered as one of the great saviors of the Empire. You came to Hoth and executed an admiral who had thought to steal from the Empire, regardless of what role you were required to play. Ensign Temple has been full of stories of grand adventures to worlds that will ever feel the remnants of you and your companions."

"...she might have exaggerated a little," Toni said, flushing a little in acute embarrassment.

"Far be it from me to naysay you," and his smile was warm, teasing. "I am content to remain on Hoth for the foreseeable future. I would find greater joy if you would consent to be more than just an adopted member of the house..."

"And if your family demands you dissolve the union?"

"A legal bond could be ended. But they cannot change the affection, the admiration, or the loyalty... Be mine, as I would be yours."

"...in the interest of transparency, Saganu, I _am_ married. Twice over. Once on Voss, and once," she nodded slightly in Vector's direction. "One I cannot, will not, give up. Is that acceptable to you?"

This time, the weighty silence belonged to him, and she let him carry it. She could let Phi-Ton out of the marriage with ease; it had been for deception's sake that she had married the boy, and though she wouldn't mind returning to Voss in the future, she could no more stay with him than she could with Saganu. It would be _better_ for Phi-Ton if he found another, one of his own, once he could.

But Vector... never. His calmness, his strength, his dry sense of humor... she would give none of that up, not even for a true marriage into one of the ruling houses of the Chiss Ascendancy.

Finally, Saganu sighed quietly.

"I could no more ask you to give up one you loved than I would expect the ensign to actually come back to serve us," he said with a small, rueful smile. "If it will not cause complications... my offer remains."

Toni blinked a couple of times, drawn from her musings mostly by surprise. He didn't mind? She turned a little to look up at him, and Saganu lightly slid his hand down her arm, until his fingers rested at her waist, pulling her just that tiny bit closer. After a long moment, Toni allowed herself a small smile.

"If you are certain... I would be happy to properly join the Miurani house."

* * *

"...you can stop laughing at any point in time, Modiri," Toni sighed.

"It's just so damn _perfect!_ " the Mirialan woman said, still snickering. "You have a fucking harem!"

"Having a harem implies that I have all of them at my beck and call when I choose, and you're perfectly aware that this isn't the case," Toni huffed. "Saganu has to stay on Hoth."

"Hey, does this make you Lady Miurani now?" Modiri asked with a wicked grin. "Or are you gonna stick with Mrs. Hyllus?"

"I _will_ dump your drink on you. Do you want to come with me to Voss or not?"

"Sure you don't wanna stick around here much longer? Have some more fun?~"

Toni sighed in exasperation, found the nearest soft object, and hit Modiri with it.


	12. Take it slow

Take it slow

"He has a detonate; get back!"

Toni turned, but wasn't fast enough; the explosion, even blocked by the Eagle's body, sent her into the stack of crates she'd used as a hiding spot, an eavesdropping point, half-burying her in their rubble. Darkness took her for a moment... It hurt a lot less in the shadows.

The next thing she heard was Vector's voice again, more a murmur than a command this time.

"Take it slowly now..."

Strangely soft, oddly... comforting. Kaliyo had nothing gentle about her, but Vector, who had been diplomat well before he'd been a warrior, had gentle hands, a sure touch, a soft voice. Softer yet with her ears ringing like she'd been inside of a bell...

Toni slowly pushed herself up on one arm as Imperial soldiers rushed into the room.

"Area is secure," one of them barked. "Sir, are you all right?"

Her ears rang loudly enough that the words were almost lost; Vector's hand supported her carefully at the shoulder nearest the floor, keeping her from falling back down. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision, and jumped rather violently as Watcher Three scrambled into the room and knelt.

"Cipher Nine, are you hurt? That was a nasty explosion," Watcher Three said, concern evident in his voice.

"You're late," she muttered.

"Yes, I suppose I am," and he sounded sheepish. "How are you feeling?"

"Scorched around the edges... a bit bruised..." Slowly, Toni sat up, raising one hand to her head. Vector carefully shifted his helping hands to her back. "Better than the Eagle, I suspect."

"So that really was him? Fantastic!"

Fantastic, he said, as though the Eagle hadn't just informed her of a traitor in their ranks. She kept her face professionally blank, and accepted Vector's aid in getting to her feet, glancing at him over her shoulder; he seemed none the worse for wear, at least. Another glance, this time in Modiri's direction saw her irritably shaking off the 'helping' hands of Imperial soldiers.

"Leave her be, she's with me," Toni said sharply. Then, turning back to the watcher, she raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here now?"

"Keeper sent me," he replied. "I'm to assist with information retrieval; slice the Eagle's computers. I'll also check out that device behind you... I think it's an Eradicator."

"Don't take unnecessary risks," she warned, moving carefully aside. Her ankle twinged, but she ignored it; twisted in the fall, but it would be fine.

"I doubt there's much to worry about; Eradicators are made for orbital bombardment."

She just raised one eyebrow at Watcher Three's back, then accepted Vector's help in sitting on one of the overturned crates.

"Are _all_ your jobs gonna be this nuts?" Modiri asked as she joined them.

"Remind me again how you picked up Gault?" Toni retorted, staring pointedly at her friend. "I did say you didn't have to come, you know."

"Kinda wishing she'd taken you up on it," Gault muttered. Then winced as Modiri kicked him.

"Agent, how are your injuries?"

Toni glanced up at Vector, a little surprised, then away slightly. He'd proven himself a more attentive and trustworthy companion than Kaliyo, and having him be suddenly that close, show that much concern.

It was a little disconcerting. Why he didn't resent her a bit more for his reposting to her ship she wasn't sure. It might have been easier if he did, really, but his calm nature made it... _hard_ to be wary of him. Despite the situation—The Eagle would have been a better live capture, damnit—she found a tiny smile crossing her face.

"I'll be fine. I can rest while Watcher Three works. Modiri, if you'd like to go back to your ship now, I'll let the guards know..."

"Eh, might as well. Lemme know if you need any more help shooting idiots."

Toni shook her head a little, trying to avoid smiling at the rough-voiced woman, and stifled a wince as she attempted to stand up. Oh, her ankle was _not_ happy with her...

"Take it _slowly_ ," Vector repeated, his tone now as much a scold as a comfort as he offered an arm to help her stabilize. "We would not have you fall down and hurt yourself again, agent."

"All right, all right, I'll sit."

This seemed to satisfy him, and once she was seated, he sat down as well.

"Are _you_ hurt?" she asked, glancing at him sidelong.

"We are not," he replied peaceably. "We apologize for being unable to shield you..."

"Oh, don't," she interrupted, frowning a little. "I don't need a protector, I need a partner."

She wasn't Modiri, prone to rushing right into the trouble and requiring a patch after the fighting had ended. She didn't need someone to stand in front of her when danger arrived. She hadn't even really _wanted_ to bring Kaliyo along on this venture, let alone Vector.

But if she was going to be saddled with them, well...

She snuck a glance at him.

"You know, if you grew your hair out a bit, you'd look quite nice," she said, keeping her tone idle.

A startled silence. Then;

"We will take it under advisement."

She stifled a grin; men were so much fun to tease.


	13. Dissolution

Dissolution

Voss.

It had been months since Toni had been on the planet. She had accomplished much there in a handful of weeks. So much...

Vector put his hand lightly on her shoulder as she looked down at the world from the orbital spaceport.

"Are you sure that this is what you wish?" he asked quietly.

"I shouldn't lie to him any longer," Toni replied, reaching up with one hand to thread their fingers together. "I appreciate what has been offered to me, and I wouldn't have found the Chamber of Ashes if I hadn't been made honorary Voss, but..."

Vector waited quietly as Toni picked her words.

"It's not like with Saganu," she finally said, leaning against her Joiner husband. "Saganu understands Imperial Intelligence, understand the Empire and its demands meant I couldn't be completely clear and honest. He knows that what I say and do not say are meant to protect him from what dangers my life has, will, or could contain. He knows when to _not_ ask, and how to gracefully step away from a subject."

"He still desired to have a permanent bond with you, after knowing all you _could_ say," Vector pointed out.

"And I owe Phi-Ton that same truth. I don't even really know where to begin, but I'm fairly sure that by the end of it, Phi-Ton will not argue about the need for dissolution."

"You would... release your Voss family?"

Toni flinched a little; her blood family had never been very big, just her parents and her. Pride was a large component of Chiss culture, and so she had striven to prove herself worthy of her parents. This had kept her from being too close to them, though it hadn't made it hurt any less to hear of their deaths. Often she had wondered if that lack of closeness had been what had made her draw as close to her current, non-blood family; a desire for the true acceptance she hadn't managed to find anywhere else...

On Voss, Phi-Ton and Yana-Ton had both admired her for being an outsider, free to leave the world and travel to the stars. That admiration had flattered her, had led her to flirt with the young Voss male, and in the end had loaned her to a different sort of family. One that she had charged the Three to protect in her absence... and yet one she knew she could never truly return to.

"Yes," she said finally. "Because while Voss is lovely, I cannot call it home and mean it. There are too many rules, too many restrictions, and no change. They have art, ruins, culture... but they are as stagnant, in the end, as he said. I cannot fit into the life, Vector... and I cannot ask Phi-Ton to fit into mine."

He wrapped his arms around her, rested his chin on her head; Toni leaned back into his embrace, accepting the comfort he was doing his best to give.

"He said that he would leave if he could," Vector reminded her quietly.

"He also said that he didn't want to be a commando, and you know our life," she smiled a little, bitter and sad. "We fight for change, Vector, but we still fight. Phi-Ton needs... someone that's not me."

Lightly, Vector kissed the top of her head.

"If you are decided, we will not stop you from trying," he said gently.

Was she decided? It seemed like the right choice; the marriage had been made for more mercenary purposes than actual affection... and she _did_ care that she had lied to Phi-Ton to get what she needed. She cared about Phi-Ton...

But ultimately, she cared about her freedom more. Voss would stifle her. Voss would kill her. The planet was beautiful, dangerous, and unwelcoming.

"What if he seeks to return with you?" Vector asked.

"I do not wish to harm him, but if I must dissuade him, I will do whatever is required," she replied, her voice firming.

Yes, she was decided. Phi-Ton was a good man, a good friend, but Phi-Ton was as trapped in his society as she was freed from hers. He would find no peace on her ship, and she would find no warmth in the teahouse. The place he hoped she would someday fill, she could not.

Vector's armed tightened slightly, and she felt tension easing.

"If it would please you, we will visit old friends in the Diplomatic service again. We will not be far."

"I doubt there will be anything that can actually get us in Voss-Ka, but... be careful, please?"

He shifted a little to kiss her temple, and she could feel him smiling.

"We will do nothing antagonizing unless you request it for an escape."

She blinked, then snorted, and elbowed him gently.

"You're a dork, and I love you."

"Yes, we know." His voice dropped slightly. "I love you too."

From impersonal to personal... she filed the words away in her mind, then gently untangled herself from his hold and headed for the shuttle that would take them down to the city.

* * *

Voss was on the crisp side as she stepped out into the air; the sunlight was warm, but not hot, and the colors of autumn—or rather, autumn according to Imperials—surrounded her in bunches of red, gold, and orange. The clean and simple elegance of the city made her sigh a little, but it was a tired sigh, not a longing one.

Briefly, Vector took her hand and lightly squeezed her fingers, then drew away and headed for the embassy where he would find old friends who were... well, slightly disturbed by his appearance, but _most_ diplomats rallied admirably. Much better than the one who'd tried to ruin the summit between Empire and Killiks. Modiri and Torian both lightly clasped her on the shoulder before they too walked off, asking no questions and offering no sympathy.

After the initial bout of teasing about a Harem, Modiri had seemed to abruptly understand that Toni's purpose on Voss was not a congenital one, and the teasing had quickly dried up into a silent strength. Whether Torian knew or suspected, Toni wasn't sure, but the show of solidarity helped to bolster her spirit some.

After a moment she headed for the teahouse. She hadn't called ahead, though she should have. She just... hadn't known what words she wanted to say. She didn't want to upset anyone, but what she was going to suggest was going to hurt all of them; Yana-Ton, Therod-Ton, Phi-Ton. And what would it do for the agreed upon protection the Three had offered for them?

It made her wish, for a selfish moment, that she could have saved Bas-Ton. Never mind that he bled human blood, that it would have broken his cover, this would have been easier, _better_ , if she could have had him survive.

After a moment she sighed and let the feeling go. She couldn't change the past, but she refused to believe there wasn't a way for her to affect the future. That, she simply couldn't accept, and it worked in direct contrast with the Voss dependence on their Mystics and prophecies.

The teahouse was cool, quiet when she stepped in. She kept her hood up as she scanned the half-empty room, seeking...

"Outside, welcome."

He almost made her jump, so quickly did he approach from the side. Fortunately for all of them, being startled tended to make her freee for a split second, and that gave her the chance to clamp down on the secondary reaction. Just more proof that she needed to stop wearing this hood, really...

"Would you care to try our teas?" Phi-Ton continued, his shy, diffident smile crossing his face easily. "We have many blends to choose from..."

No point in prolonging the inevitable. Toni reached up and slid her hood back; oh it was _hard_ to not smile as shock suffused his expression, then delight. It was harder still to look him in the eye, knowing that she was going to yank the rug out from under his optimistic feet. Knowing that she was going to hurt him in order to set him free.

"My wife! You have returned to us?"

"...yes and no," she said after a moment, trying not to wince. "I have returned to Voss, but not to stay. I need to speak with you. Privately."

"Of course, I would be happy to spend time with you," and his smile was warmer, softer. "Please, come into the family room. You should greet Yana-Ton and Uncle."

"Phi-Ton..." Lightly, she touched his arm. "This needs to be between us for the moment. It would be better to be in a private spot."

Surprise. Concern. Hesitance.

"Please."

After a moment, he nodded.

"I will have Yana-Ton take my place for a time," he said. "Will you come up to the quarters?"

Toni nodded; she had been in the teahouse just enough times to know where they family quarters were, and which room belonged to Phi-Ton. She followed him briefly, then slipped away, up the stairs when he went into the teahouse kitchen to talk to his sister.

The swirling, curving designs that the Voss liked so much were in evidence everywhere in the family quarters, but she could see bits of outsider influence here and there. A small statue that looked like it could have come from Tython, maybe. A painting of a star-filled sky, depicting constellations not found in the Voss sky. A glittering drape of cloth on Yana-Ton's bed, visible through the open archway.

Phi-Ton's room was as austere as she remembered, and she sat on a padded stool, folding her hands in her lap as she tried to find the right place to begin. It had more blues and reds in it than last time, and two new holo; one of them on their wedding day, one of her alone, smiling faintly.

Though it didn't show in the picture—years of practice in showing only what she wanted others to see—she remembered forcing that smile for them. Because he'd asked for it, and she hadn't had it in her to refuse.

The silence of the room, and the faintest hint of incense, should have been relaxing. Comforting, even. Voss was a place of peace, of practicality. They made deals with neither side, and it was almost hilarious to watch the Empire and Republic try to outdo one another in diplomacy as much as in war. She wondered how the Voss had dealt with the knowledge that the Gormak were the same race, the Voss had been changed by Sith and Jedi both, and decided it might not be best to ask that question.

Phi-Ton joined her after only a few minutes, carrying a small tray of tea. Even after all these months, he had remembered that she had liked the sweetcakes, the citrus scented tea, lightly touched with the local herbivore milk. He looked both concerned and eager, and was quick to borrow another stool for himself, joining her by the low table on which the tray was set.

"It has been some time, but I tried to prepare things the way you seemed to enjoy," he said in his soft voice. "You look... tired, and I hoped this might help."

She allowed a half-smile to quirk her mouth, and picked up the tea, though she didn't drink.

"Have you had many adventures?" he asked, when she failed to speak. "What worlds have you seen since leaving Voss? What worlds did you see before?"

"Phi-Ton..." Toni sighed and put the tea down, untasted. "I've been thinking about this for a while. Your planet is lovely, and your culture fascinates me, but it's time to admit that this marriage will not work. It's not fair to you that I keep pretending it can."

He blinked at her for several minutes.

"I... do not understand," he said a little plaintively.

"I will never live here, Phi-Ton," she said gently. "I cannot take the place in the teahouse that you hold for me. I cannot be a wife who can bear you a child or two, who can find ease in the routine of tending to others and never going beyond that. I cannot be someone who only looks up at the sky and never follows the stars. You should have someone who loves tea as you do, who wants to live this life with you, who will be at your side.

"It would be better for you, for all involved, if we asked a Mystic to dissolve the marriage."

"You would... leave the family?"

"Yes," she said quietly. "Because I care for all of you too much to keep lying."

Hurt on his face, open and pure. Toni kept her own emotions strictly in check, refusing to let him see that this was as painful to her as it was to him.

"What lies have you spoken?" he asked finally.

"It's more what lies have I concealed by _not_ speaking," she replied. "Some I still would not say, for they are not mine to speak, and I will not tarnish the memory of a good man. But for myself, I came here to root out a conspiracy, the Star Cabal. Through Voss, I found what I needed... and you knew, as your uncle did, that this marriage was for a more practical reason than anything else."

"You... you went through the Rite of Ardor with me," he said, his voice wavering with hurt. "We awoke passions in one another, and created the bond of husband and wife."

Toni sighed a little.

"I should not have done that, and I wish now that I had not, for it might make this easier on you."

There wasn't much that would make it easier on _her_ , really. Even knowing that she had both Vector and Saganu to fall back on as she needed didn't make this easy.

"I..." Phi-Ton looked down at his hands, clutched around his cup of tea. "I do not wish to sever this marriage."

"I know. Given the choice, however, I would never have entered into it. If I could have found my way into the Nightmare Lands on my own, I would have spared you this."

Hells, if she'd been allowed to slip in on her own, stealthed as she'd initially thought she might, she never would have consented to going through this ceremony. Even if it meant she wouldn't have fit their Mystic prophecy, she would have done it. She would never have known at that...

"You... did not wish to be of the family."

"That's not it, and don't put words in my mouth," she said, a little more sharply than intended. "I was happy to be part of the family. But is it right to say that I am when I am never here? Is it right to deny you the children you wish because you married an outsider? Phi-Ton, when I leave, I do not plan to return again. In the long run, it will be better for you if this is dissolved and you can find someone who will make you properly happy. Because I cannot... and I think now you understand that."

He closed his eyes, briefly, tightly, and she found herself wondering if Voss could cry. She dared not touch him, dared not offer anything that he might take as a sign that she was not firm in her decision... She didn't want to give him false hope.

"This will sever your connection to Voss," he said after a long moment, his voice tight. "You were healed here, found family here, found new meaning..."

"Phi-Ton, I would have found those things eventually on my own," she said quietly. "I have as much family with my friend and our crews as I do here, and eventually I would have come to my own answer, with or without your healers. I was already halfway there without them, I just needed to say the words aloud, to acknowledge the change in me, and the loyalty that had drastically altered." She sighed a little, shaking her head. "I know you're trying to convince me to stay, but my mind was made up before I left the orbital station. Once I leave Voss this time, it will be for good."

He bowed his head, and was silent for several minutes. Toni, practiced at waiting patiently, still found herself wishing she had something to do with her hands.

"If... this is what you truly wish, then..." Phi-Ton's voice shook. "Then I will accept it."

"...thank you Phi-Ton," she said softly. "I know the words won't mean much to you right now, but I am sorry as well."

"We should... find one of the Mystics," he said, getting jerkily to his feet and not looking at her. "It will not do to keep you waiting after all of this."

Toni stood, and pulled her hood back up; no point in getting stopped by Yana-Ton or Therod-Ton and having to explain again. Not that she would leave it to him, no, but one of these was hard enough. Therod-Ton might understand, but Yana-Ton was just as optimistic, as naïve as her brother, and Toni wasn't sure she could stand to break the girl's heart as well as the boy's.

* * *

A nullification was surprisingly simple, all things considered; they spoke to a Mystic, Toni laid out her reasons for requesting the dissolution of the marriage, and after some thought, the Mystic agreed that what she was doing was the correct action. Once finished, she parted from Phi-Ton after giving him a message chip that he could play for Yana-Ton and Therod-Ton, and headed in the direction of the bridge that would take her back to the shuttle.

She stood on that bridge for a while, looking down into the canyon, taking in the last sights of Voss before she turned her back on the beautiful, stifling world. Feeling the crisp breeze without the benefits of the warm sunlight. It wasn't _cold_ , not externally, but her heart felt like she'd dropped it in the snow on Hoth and left it there.

"Hey."

Toni blinked and glanced up; Modiri stood there, hands loosely in her pockets. Try as she might, she couldn't see sympathy in Modiri's steady gaze... but she thought she saw understanding.

"You all done here?" the Mirialan woman asked. "Torian says he's all shopped out, and I think Vector ran out of people to talk to, cause I saw him hanging around the stalls earlier."

"I... y-yeah. Yes, I'm done. We can leave."

"All right. I told em to head back to the shuttle while I found you. Let's go."

Toni nodded, and fell in beside her friend. They walked in silence for a few moments, Modiri not pressing while Toni struggled to keep her face neutral.

"Hey Mo?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I have an arm?"

Modiri looked at her sidelong for a moment, surprised, and Toni managed a weak smile. It wasn't often that she admitted to _needing_ comfort, she knew, but right now she wanted something a little more... _less_ in terms of empathy. After another few seconds, Modiri shrugged lightly, and draped an arm over Toni's shoulders.

It was a solid weight, comforting in its difference.

"...thanks."

Modiri just grunted slightly, and kept the arm in place until they reached the shuttle and the two humans waiting for them.

* * *

"-on the one hand, I feel, I _know_ , I made the right choice, but now I'm responsible for the heartbreak of three people..."

Saganu's expression was thoughtful; he'd been surprised and pleased to receive her call, and had listened patiently while she'd worked her way around to the reason for it. As much a husband as Vector, he had a more outside perspective, and she needed that before she accepted the comfort that she knew her husbug was waiting to offer.

"It sounds to me like you did make the right choice," he said finally. "You released someone from an obligation that was not made honestly, and gave him the chance to find someone who could better fit into the world he and his live in. Yes, he and his family will hurt, but you have also freed them from the need to wait for you. And you have released yourself from an obligation you realized you could not fulfill in any meaningful way."

"I didn't want to hurt anyone..."

"There was no way out of that situation without some pain," he pointed out, his tone firm instead of gentle. Oddly, it helped. "Better to rip the bandage off all at once than allow a chance for things to fester and turn sour. Perhaps in time they will understand this, perhaps not. But now they will no longer have to wait for you, and you will not have to wonder if you ought to return to a place where you fell you cannot belong."

She turned the words over in her head, then let out a shaky sigh, smiling weakly.

"Thank you, Saganu... It will likely hurt for some time, but your words help."

He smiled fondly at her, bowing just slightly.

"I am glad to have been able to ease your mind, my Red Flame. Perhaps if you can convince Modiri to return to Hoth..."

Despite the aching heart, she couldn't help but chuckle.

"I doubt she'll be willing so soon. Given me about a month and I'll see what I can do."

"Ah well, it was worth a try," and Saganu smiled as she chuckled again, shaking her head a little. "Will you sleep well, my Red Flame?"

"Better now, I think, yes."

"Then I shall let you get to it. I will contact you soon, if not by comm, then by mail."

"Saganu."

He paused, and Toni felt heat curling in her cheeks.

"Just..." Her voice dropped. "I love you."

Surprise, then pleasure crossed his face, and she watched an undefinable tension seep out of his shoulders.

"And I, you. Sleep well. Saganu out."

Toni flushed a little more as she closed the connection on her end, then set the holocom on the table. It had been impulse to say that, something she usually ignored, but she didn't want Saganu to... _worry_. He would, of course, worry about her, but she didn't want him to worry about _them_.

Absently she drew her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them, and wrapped her arms around her thighs. She couldn't scamper off to Hoth to physically reassure him; word were all she had to offer, and she had to hope that, until she _could_ convince Modiri to make a brief layover on the frozen world, words would be enough.

She heard his familiar steps before he reached the door; he had been waiting so politely that she couldn't help but give him a small smile, pained though it was. Vector didn't speak, he simply stepped in, closed the door behind him, and came over to sit on the bed.

"Your song is full of grief," he said after a long minute of silence. "But not regret."

"No... I don't regret this. I regret the circumstances that led to it, but this is... is what was needed. Even if it hurts..."

His hand rested lightly on her head, fingers running through long strands of blue hair that she still hadn't bothered to get cut. Slowly she unfolded, until she could lean back against him. Then turned so that she was sitting on his lap, her head against his shoulder. One hand crept up until she could feel his heartbeat against her palm, and she closed her eyes, just listening to him breathe.

"You should rest," he murmured. "You are still not fully recovered from the injuries on Hoth, and the stress you have handled today will not have helped."

It made her smile.

"Are you fussing at me again?"

"We are... _I_ am, your husband," he said, and his tone suggested that it was a complete answer.

And really, it was. Toni closed her eyes, and let control fade away, let the tears well up and spill over.

It wasn't wild sobs of terror, or angry tears, these ones were... softer somehow. Gentler. She regretted hurting Phi-Ton, Yana-Ton, Therod-Ton, but she had made the decision to free Phi-Ton, to free _herself_... And if she had left one family behind for good, well, she still had this one.

Vector just stroked her hair, and rubbed her back until the tears dried up.

"Rest now, Toni," he murmured. "I am here."

Weary but feeling lighter, Toni closed her eyes, and let the soothing motion of Vector's fingers in her hair lure her the rest of the way to sleep.


	14. Two of a kind

Two of a kind

They had elected to meet in a neutral area, one where people would see two Cathar before they might figure out the major differences.

Twig had gotten to the meeting place first, claimed a table, and ordered a drink after examining what other people regarded as safe; on a Hutt world, the only thing that could be counted on was if both newcomers _and_ old-timers drank it. Excitement buzzed under her skin, lightly raising the dark brown fur that covered her body.

How many years had it been since she had seen any of her siblings? And then by chance, by _luck_ , Risha's kidnapping had led her straight to the one she had always regretted losing the most.

Well, she missed Suri and Val too, but the stars only knew where they were at this point. Twig had tried to leave a message for them at the addresses she had been given so long ago, but without a response, had no idea if they'd be seeing either one.

When her little sister walked into the cantina, Twig almost missed her; the big hulking creature that Mishi had called Khem was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she'd brought a human with a shaved head, and a tattoo on his face. Not her apprentices, or her scholar...

Twig couldn't actually remember if this human had been mentioned, actually.

She lifted a hand in greeting as Mishori looked around, and had to smile as her sister covered the distance in light-footed bounds, leaving her human companion startled and working to catch up.

"You're here!"

"Yup. Said I would be, didn't I?~"

Gone were the overt robes that would have marked her as Sith; only the saber at her side suggested her profession, and though unique, Mishori's own personality would lend itself more to the fiction of Jedi than the truth of Sith. The 'golden child', that was how their mother had referred to her, back before her death. With the pale blue eyes, and the golden fur pattered with soft spots and stripes, her face still carried the sweetness of the girl she'd been.

None of the Tinu's had ever actually _matched_ in coloration, but Mishori had definitely stood out more than most. The youngest, the most cheerful, and the one strongest in the ways of the Force.

"So, gonna make an introduction, Mishi?"

Mishori beamed over her shoulder at the rough-voiced human, and nodded.

"Andronikos, this is my sister, Tytha."

"Twig," she interrupted, with a grin.

"...who still goes by the silly nickname, but what can you do," and she offered a playful shrug. "Ty, this is Andronikos. My pilot, and my mate."

"Man, I missed _every_ thing, didn't I?" Twig complained jokingly as she shook Andronikos's hand. "You have _got_ to tell me how this went down because I have so many questions, you wouldn't _believe_."

"Yes, well, so do I!" Mishori replied, plopping into a chair and staring at her sister with an eagerness that wouldn't be denied. "You're here, but where's Suri? Or Val?"

Twig shrugged.

"Suri decided to be a bounty hunter a couple years after you left," she replied. "Thought it might give her the connections to find out what Jedi enclave you'd vanished into. Val made sure I got the piloting lessons I wanted, then vanished on me. Haven't seen or heard from either in years."

"Oh..."

"If this is just gonna be girltalk, call me when you're done," Andronikos said, raising his hands slightly.

Mishi's crestfallen look changed to a smile and she nodded.

"If you're going to pick a fight with the Exchange, bring someone else along," she retorted.

"I wasn't- tch, fine. But you don't leave here til I get back, got it?"

"Yes yes, yes yes."

Twig snickered at the annoyed look on his face, and Mishori giggled as he turned and walked off.

"You shoot lightning from your fingertips, and he worries about you leaving a cantina without him?"

"Well... he's fussy, but at least he'll go off on his own if he's bored," Mishori shook her head ruefully. "Khem would insist on standing at the door and glaring away all the custom, so it seemed like a more prudent decision. Didn't you bring anyone?"

"Nah. I don't have anything to worry about here~"

Mishori looked surprised, then smiled a little, ruefully.

"Any trouble you got into, you always _could_ talk yourself out of," she sighed a little. "And you are a good enough shot that I expect you'd be able to defend yourself."

"Damn straight," Twig smirked. Then leaned back slightly, and studied her sister. "So, fair question, how the _hell_ did this happen?"

Mishori made a face.

"The Jedi was going to take me to an enclave somewhere near Tython, I think. Except the transport was attacked by the Empire, and I was made a slave."

"They didn't think it was weird, a Jedi escorting a Cathar kid somewhere?"

"Well, it's not like they _asked_ , Ty. They just killed him, and dragged me off to be sold."

"Okay, okay," Twig raised her hands slightly, then reached over and patted Mishori's shoulder. "So, from slave to Sith?"

"...I lost my temper at my master when he tried to drag off one of the others he had for 'punishment' when she didn't do anything wrong," and Mishori rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Put him through a wall."

Twig whistled, impressed.

"Damn, Mishi."

"I'd stayed quiet for so long, Ty... I just reached the end of my ability to keep my head down."

Mishori looked upset more than anything else, so Twig looped an arm around her sister's shoulders and hugged her.

"And that got you to Sith attention?"

Mishori nodded, and sighed.

"They trained me with a pack of other humans, and then sent me to Korriban... it feels like it's been a lifetime since then, but really... I think it's been a year? Give or take a few months..."

"Wait, hold up, you married some dude you've known for only a year?"

Mishi's elbow lightly hit her ribs, and she snorted.

"That's not the point, sister dear."

Twig snorted in reply and messed the perfectly styled golden-white locks of her sister, making her yelp.

"Sure it is! I got chased all over the galaxy by some pissy-ass pirate, and you get married?! Where's the fairness in that?"

Mishori laughed, as she'd been meant to, and this time shoved her fondly.

"I bet you did something to deserve it," she teased.

"I got my damn ship stolen! I soooooo did not deserve Rogun's bullshit on top of that! I killed the bastard who stole my shipment for him anyways, what more did his ass want?!"

Mishori laughed again, and Twig took a drink from her cup, huffing a little. It was mostly theatrics; she'd shot Skavaak, and in the end had come to an understanding with Rogun. Hell, she had one hell of a pirate _fleet_ at her beck and call now. Plus, she had a future queen on her ship, one scary Mando that she wanted to kiss, a Wookie for a best friend—and sometimes a bed, which he didn't seem to care about—and had left a trail of lovers behind her.

The less said about Corso, the better, really.

"So are you a lord, a darth, or just an ordinary?"

"I'd say there's nothing _ordinary_ about the order, though I'm only part of it in the strictest of sense," Mishori replied. "Technically I'm a darth, a member of the Dark Council, but more realistically, I fall somewhere between the two philosophies."

"Issat why you didn't really wanna eat the Jedi or her 'prentice?"

"More or less, yes. I don't think the Jedi way is right, any more than I think the Sith path is the ultimate way to follow. If anything, I'm a Revanite; somewhere between the two. I think the Jedi term for it is Gray? Don't quote me though; most Jedi see me and think I'm out to murder them, so I don't often get to talk about their philosophies."

"Daaaamn, Mishi. You went way up in the world," Twig said, impressed.

Mishori grimaced a little, and swiped Twig's mug, taking a sip from it without actually checking it first. Twig was then treated to her sibling's expression as the alcohol burned down her throat and cracked up.

"Oh shut up," the other Cathar grumbled. "I thought you said you were employed by a Jedi?"

"Eh," Twig shrugged and took the drink back. "She's someone Risha knew. If Risha trusts her, I'm willing to give it a shot. It's politics, I think."

"Something you never were very good at."

Twig shrugged again, grinning a little.

"I can play people easy enough, but that crap's always been way out there. Besides, considering the shit I had to wade through to get _this_ far, I'm pretty damn sure I don't wanna play those games if I don't have to."

"Do you need help?"

"Nah, I'm good, Mishi. No worries. I have dozens of places to go to ground if I gotta. I mean, c'mon. I'm a smuggler. Having a bolt-hole or ten is kind of a requirement."

Mishori snickered a little, shaking her head slightly.

"How'd you fall into _that_?"

Twig shrugged.

"A deal here, a deal there, don't ask questions, somehow end up with a small pirate armada..."

"Wait, what?"

Now she grinned.

"Yup. I have contacts from here to the Outer Rim~ I mean, I've got no issues with pirates, so long as they're not trying to hijack me. 'Sides, one of my nuttier missions was on Hoth, and you would not _believe_ the shit on that planet."

"I probably would; I was there too."

"Yeah? When?"

"A few months ago. One of the things I needed to... help me deal with another Sith was there. It's actually where I met Drellik; I needed the aid of the reclamation service, and he came highly recommended."

"Huh. S'been like... six months for me. Ish? I had a job from a senator; wanted me to find out why the White Maw pirates were able to get the drop on them."

Mishori's eyebrows went up, curiosity on her face.

"Some new technology?"

"Nah, nothing that impressive. Turned out to be a Force Sensitive kid, but the trick only worked when he was scared. He had kind of a surrogate mom there, who actually gave a damn about him, so I let the kid stay, played it off like the tech went boom."

Mishori nodded a little, her expression sympathetic.

"I'm not a fan of the pirates, but I didn't have to directly deal with them, so that helped," she replied. "It's almost a shame we can't leave the planet to the Chiss. It's more their sort of thing than either Republic _or_ Empire."

"Chiss?"

"Ah... Toni? People like her."

Twig blinked, thinking of the blue-skinned, red-eyed woman with the delicate voice and the practical attitude.

"Huh. So _that's_ what she was. I was wonderin."

"They're Imperial allies, apparently by choice. It still seems odd, but I've stopped questioning it."

"Not worth the headache?" Twig said with a grin.

"Noooooo. Besides, I have other things to concern myself with. Like keeping the Dark Council off my back, and trying to find new ways to keep Drellik busy."

"He's a scholar, point him at some ruins."

"He specifies in ancient Sith knowledge. Pointing him at some ruins and turning him loose doesn't always end well," Mishori replied wryly. "He was actually working at the Dark Temple on Dromund Kaas when he got kidnapped."

"Tunnel vision?"

" _Very_. But he's a good man."

"Better than the one you arrived with?~"

Mishori's fur rose slightly and she lightly punched Twig on the arm.

"You hush. It's not like that."

Twig snickered, and lightly poked her.

"So where'd you pick him up?"

"Tatooine. Former pirate who stole an artifact my then-Master wanted. His crew mutinied on him, and stole it from him, then marooned him, so he was seeking revenge of his own."

"Oh, so, basically, a win-win situation, and he tagged along for the fun of it after you got what you wanted?"

Mishori nodded a little.

"Something like that, yes. I certainly didn't pick him up with the _intention_ of taking him along. He grumbles at me every so often because I'm more comfortable with Khem at my back..."

"Okay, but Khem's like... twice your size. He's _Bowie's_ size, and I'm always draggin him everywhere. It pays so much to have a big buddy, y'know?"

"Yes," And Mishori grinned a little. "But Andronikos still doesn't really know how to treat Khem."

"...same way you treat anything that can eat you?" Twig offered. " _Politely_."

Now Mishori laughed, and Twig did too.

"What about you? Don't you have someone yet? You were always the one who wanted to find your true love and all," Mishori teased gently after a moment.

Twig made a face.

"Yeah, when I was a kid. But you really don't meet the best people when you're a smuggler. It's..." After a moment she shook her head a little. "The ones I like don't like me that way, and the ones that do, I'd kind of rather shoot. Not to say that I haven't had plenty of one-nighters~"

She kept her tone light, unwilling to admit that some small part of her still really _did_ want to find someone she could keep. Akaavi, unfortunately, was completely oblivious, and she hadn't met anyone else that she'd want to keep with her.

"So what _is_ Khem's deal, anyways?" she asked, changing the subject to something much lighter. "I mean, threatening to eat a Jedi?"

"He's a race known as the Deshade. They're Force resistant and... well, they _do_ eat Force users," Mishori shrugged a little. "It's what their race appears to have been bred for. He's one of the last; he was in a tomb on Korriban, in stasis until I freed him. He, ah... did try to eat me, before you ask. Obviously he failed, but still. He resented me for winning for a while, but we work well together now. As I kept telling everyone who asked, you can only threaten to be eaten so many times before it becomes... unthreatening. He still does, every now and again, but I know he doesn't mean it."

"Jeeez. You definitely got the weirder end of the stick," Twig said, shaking her head a little.

"Probably, yes. I sometimes wish still that most of it had never happened... if we'd never left Nar Shadda..."

"Ah, c'mon, we all would've left at some point," And Twig waved a hand lightly. "No one really planned to _stay_."

"Yes, but we'd all planned to leave as a team, not bounce off on our own," Mishori replied. "Connecting again is nothing more than the purest of luck."

"Not 'the will of the Force'?" Twig asked with a wicked grin.

Mishori snorted.

"Please. I won't deny that the Force is in all living things and works in strange ways, but I don't buy into the immutable future nonsense. You want that, you talk to the Mystics on Voss."

"Ugh, no thanks," and Twig wrinkled her nose. "They have no sense of humor on that planet, and even _less_ in terms of fun."

"Well, I can't really argue with that," Mishori sighed a little. "They didn't even want to let me _on_ the planet."

Twig stared.

"Oh that sounds like a story," she prompted.

"Nothing so grand. I merely... helped one of the Gormak to get off the planet. And apparently their Mystics saw this," Mishori shrugged, then smiled slightly. "They got angry a second time when I left with him, but every now and again the mind sees things that... simply aren't there. You know?"

"...damn, Mishi..."

"I wouldn't have done it, but they were being stubborn, and I was... well, rather on a time limit," and Mishori ducked her head a little, looking embarrassed now. "We all do what we have to as needed, don't we?"

"...Yeah. Yeah, we do. Hey, so, I've met most of your crew, you wanna call your pirate out of the Exchange murders and come meet mine?"

Because there was no way she was getting the full story in a cantina where _anyone_ could listen in, and Twig was suddenly very convinced that she wanted to know what all Mishori had been dealing with.

Mishori blinked, then smiled in a somewhat knowing manner.

"Well, I don't have anything else to do for a while, so why not? We've both got a lot of catching up to do... and I do have something to tell you about an ancestor that is going to knock you off your feet."

Twig grinned.

"All right. Then call you man so we can get going!"


	15. Irony

Ah, irony

There was something absolutely ridiculous about the whole situation, really. Had she really followed the rabbit hole _this far down_ just to find her baby sister?

Yes. Yes, apparently she had.

And the irony was the she was the only one of them who _could_. Hadn't that been why she'd disappeared from Nar Shaddaa, leaving Tytha in the care of Val? Tracing a path through the Force, seeking traces of the sister who had traded freedom for help, who had vanished as certainly as someone who had crossed the Hutt Catell.

Suriania flicked a strand of hair back over her shoulders, her face a well-practiced casual arrogance as she looked around; of all places, she had expected Jedi enclaves. But the Sith temple on Korriban? No, she had not expected to find herself here. Certainly not at the behest of an Imperial who actually looked past her race to see her abilities.

Like Mishori, Suri had been born with strength in the Force. _Unlike_ Mishi, Suri had learned how to hide it. She hadn't pretended it didn't exist, but she hadn't used it as overtly as Mishi had. Though admittedly, some of that could be blamed on Tytha; goodness knew that Mishi had practically worshiped the brash confidence and quick tongue of her older sister...

Korriban sands stung her ears; the sun was hot and close, and the air of the people in the temple itself was one of malice, an undercurrent of arrogance and anger, strong emotions not quite restrained.

She didn't _quite_ hate it, but being made to fetch and carry, do the work for first Overseer Tremel, and then Lord Baras, cut into the chances she had to look around. To ask questions. Had another Cathar been here? Where had she gone? Had she survived her trials?

"You look kinda like you wanna hit someone?" Vette ventured, her tone somewhere between casual and curious.

Suri blinked, then glanced at the Twi'ilek. She didn't trust her just yet, but there was something to be said about the candor that was offered.

"I do," she replied after a moment, her tone controlled and thoughtful. "But not you, so don't worry, little bird."

"Chirp, chirp," Vette said, her tone turning almost mockingly sarcastic.

Suri just chuckled; Vette's sass was comforting. It was a reminder that not everyone feared the Sith; whether they were right or wrong to do so, she couldn't say.

"Seriously though, what's up? I thought we were supposed to hurry and do whatever it was this Baras guy wanted you to do."

Suriania affected an uncaring shrug.

"I'm here for reasons of my own, and I'll do his errands as I please," she replied.

"I can't tell if you're crazy or just don't care..."

"Oh, I care," and Suriania shrugged again. "But my reasons for being here are still more important to me than what he might want from an old, dusty tomb. The ancient lightsaber has waited this long, it will survive a while longer while I wait and listen."

"...caaaan I ask what you're listening for?"

"You can."

Suri hid a smile as Vette stared at her pointedly. The Twi'ilek sighed in exasperation first.

" _What_ are you listening for?"

"News."

Vette made a face.

"Now you're just being difficult," she accused.

"We're in the middle of the Sith temple; cantina or not. Watching my words is sensible."

If Vette was half as smart as Suri thought she was, she'd pick out the trail of crumbs without a lot of help. Not that she expected Vette to have seen Mishori; Vette hadn't been in the jail cell long enough. Suri knew what Mishi's energy felt like, and while it was strong enough to have led her this far, it had weakened in the years of hunting, in the months between leads. Mishi _had_ been here. Of that she was certain. But how _long_ ago... that was in question.

"-upstart _Cathar_ claimed a new batch of slaves."

Suri leaned to the side slightly, feigning boredom, as she listened harder, picking out voices from beneath the music of the cantina. An irritated overseer, and... ah, a guard. There. By the wall.

"What's it matter Harkun?" the guard asked, his expression radiating boredom. "She's a lord, it's her right t'claim new slaves fer trainin."

"She shouldn't have risen so high so fast," Harkun replied, scowling into his bubbling drink. "If not for that brutal _pet_ of hers, she'd have been dead already."

"Rules of the Sith," and the guard shrugged, uncaring. "You know that."

The grimace Harkun threw his compatriot was telling, and Suriania stifled a pleased smile. She was on the right track... now, how to escape the hold of Baras to find Mishi?

After a moment, she stood, motioning Vette to follow. The Twi'ilek blinked, then jumped to her feet as Suri moved towards the door.

"We're done? Hear something useful?"

"Mmhm. I have others to track for the moment. May as well get Baras's tomb present for him while I wait."

It wouldn't take much digging to find these slaves; poor bastards, the lot of them. Even by coming here, they weren't free. Just given a more brutal death.

Stars but she hated this place.

Suri shook her head lightly, and moved into the archives; she just needed a few minutes with a free terminal, and she just might be one step closer to finding the golden girl.


End file.
